


ACT 3: THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

by calumTraveler



Series: Stargate: Alternia [4]
Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck, Obduction (Video Game), Stargate SG-1
Genre: (with just a smidge of WORM SHARDS for flavoring), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arai shenanigans, Asgard (Stargate), Asphyxiation, Blowing up spaceships with RED/BLUE BEAMS OF DOOM, Brainwashing, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Decapitation, Genetic Engineering, Goa'uld (Stargate), Goa'uld gonna Goa'uld (Sometimes even without the snakes in their heads), LITERALLY, Mindscape Shenanigans, Mofang Technology, Multi, Parallel Universes, Quantum Mirror Shenanigans, Replicators, Someone chokes on their own words, Super Power Semi Sentient Alien Crystals on a Bracelet!, There's no other way around it you're going to have to-, Time Travel, Tok'ra (Stargate), Troll Romance, With a knockoff Lightsaber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-02 03:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 36
Words: 106,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12718911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calumTraveler/pseuds/calumTraveler
Summary: In a universe where FRUSTRATION OVER LEADERSHIP IS A UNIVERSAL CONSTANT, there are always those who think they can do BETTER, but generally just ACT EXACTLY THE SAME.After all, as they say, "IMITATION IS..."





	1. SG1:02x22: Intermission 2: Out of Sight, Out of Mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! The SG-1 SIDE is still roughly about A YEAR AHEAD of the ALTERNIA SIDE unless OTHERWISE NOTED. Chapters are marked "SG-1" and "ALT" respectively.
> 
> @NEWCOMERS: You don't have to know much about OBDUCTION, or STARGATE, or HOMESTUCK if you're unfamiliar with any of the given franchises included in the crossover. NECESSARY ELEMENTS of the original series are explained where plot relevant. If you're only just discovering this crossover, you'll probably want to go back to the beginning and start there. ^^;; 
> 
> @OBDUCTION FANS: Sorry, no SPACE PINECONES this crossover. Planned worlds and their Species to be used are MARAY, KAPTAR, and SORIA. Kaptar and Soria have already featured heavily in ACT 2, and the ARAI BEETLES are going to be a bit of a constant companion for JOEY CLAIRE. Expect the Mofang to keep causing trouble too.
> 
> @HOMESTUCK/HIVESWAP FANS: There's NO SBURB this crossover. Everything else is probably fair game. EXPECT NEW HIVESWAP TROLLS to Cameo as they're announced on the TROLLCALL. 
> 
> @STARGATE FANS: RULE OF THUMB for Stargate Episode Numbers: if I'm SKIPPING NUMBERS in the sequence? It's because I didn't see enough NECESSARY BUTTERFLIES occurring to necessitate adapting the episode, and it otherwise would have just been a REHASH of the Canon TV SERIES EPISODE or they've been ENTIRELY BUTTERFLIED OUT OF EXISTENCE (SEE: Season 2's "Touchstone" - the plot just simply evaporated due to butterflies); this is due to STARGATE SG-1 being an EPISODIC TV SERIES, and thus MANY EPISODES end up not being connected to each other, but WHEN THEY DO, expect the connections to be ruthlessly pointed out. Also... expect me to MAKE SOME SENSE out of the SCIFI stuff when the original series writers were a TAAAD inconsistent with their rules. 
> 
> Finally, @EVERYONE: if I confirm reference to a random TV show or Video Game, it's 90% probably just me being a nerd and slipping a nod in where appropriate, and 10% it might be FORESHADOWING for something. It's probably NOT going to get added to the Crossover listing, though. I don't want it to bloat excessively.

Your name is...?  
  
**_What?_**  
  
You... you can't really quite...  
  
**Remember??**  
  
You can't remember what your name is, and yet, you AWAKEN never the less.  
  
The FOG of some CHILLING ATMOSPHERE rolls off of your body through VENTS in the side of-- of a coffin? No, some kind of CHAMBER.  
  
You hear someone's voice, distantly, muttering something about...  
  
Hibernation?  
  
Then, the glass LID over you recedes, and you feel the WARM OUTSIDE AIR brushing against your CHILLED SKIN.  
  
You GASP for air as you sit up, trying to get some sense of... location out of where you are.  
  
INSTINCT tells you you shouldn't be here. That you should be FIGHTING... something.  
  
"Hello, there," A SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR looking man says, stepping forwards, kneeling down and smiling. He's BLURY, though. You can't make out many details, but his VOICE... sounds like... Sort of like what you think of when you think about your own voice played back from a recording but WHY THE HELL would that be a thing that comes to mind? "It's been a while, Harley."  
  
Har...ley? Harley. Yes. That's your name. Your... Your LAST NAME?  
  
Who are you again?  
  
You squint at the man, his face is BLURRY for some reason.  
  
"Wh...what?" you try to ask.  
  
"What happened?" The man finishes. "That's... a hard question to answer. You see, there was an incident. You were offworld, and these soldiers showed up to kill you and your team."  
  
Team... what...?  
  
"SG-1."  
  
"...What?" you blink, vaguely remembering, standing there in front of A... A STARGATE, and SG-1 preparing to go through. But then... then...  
  
You remember being SHOT. Standing in front of that very same Stargate.  
  
"You were ambushed. By all rights you should be dead, but we managed to keep you stable long enough, at least, to get a brain scan made. After that," the man shrugs. "We gave you a new body. It took a while to clone it, but we managed it. And now we're going to set things right. We're going to prevent SG-1's deaths."  
  
"...How?" You ask.  
  
"We have an agent in the past already, a clone of your late wife, Anna," the man says. "You'll join her in her efforts to prevent certain people from gaining power."  
  
"Anna..." ANNA? But... didn't she die... long before you did? That... "How?"  
  
"Harley, I know this is hard to grasp, but you need to play the part," the man continues. "You need to go through with this and pretend to be her First Prime. Only you can help save the Galaxy from certain death."  
  
"I... I'll do it." You nod- memories a haze. "I'll save them."  
  
You... you aren't quite sure who's being saved by you going back or why you being there MATTERS but...  
  
But you'll do it anyways.

* * *

 

Your name.... your name is... Jake Harley? You think??  
  
You obviously can't go by that name anymore if you're supposed to be dead.  
  
Something is wrong with your eyes. Even with your GLASSES, your vision is still BLURRY, but it's coherent enough to realize that your own REFLECTION in the mirror is DECADES TOO YOUNG. You... You can't be any older than your TEENAGED YEARS.  
  
This should be impossible. But... time travel... if that's really possible...  
  
You're taken to a STARGATE, and are given a COMPUTER containing RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE that ANNA is supposed to read on the other side.  
  
Anna...  
  
You feel like there should be other people more important than her. But... you can't remember who. You can't even remember how Anna died either.  
  
Is this the AFTERLIFE?  
  
You... you can't be certain.  
  
Even so, you step through the STARGATE, and then there's this... this...  
  
YOU'RE NOT SURE WHAT IT IS that's different about the trip but it's DIFFERENT never the less.  
  
Maybe it's this strange, mysterious process of TIME TRAVEL?  
  
...You can't REMEMBER if the solar flare was what was different or not.  
  
You exit the gate and your breath is taken away by the sight of ANNA CLAIRE, except... different. YOUNGER. FELINE? Did Anna have cat ears originally? You... **you can't remember.**  
  
"Jake," She smiles, "I'm glad you made it." And then she's walking over to you, and pulling you into a hug, whispering into your ear, "I missed you so much, _**MY JAKE."** _ Her voice ECHOES suddenly and you-  
  
You...  
  
You......  
  
You feel suddenly so much more at peace in the universe to the point that your VISION COMES BACK INTO FOCUS.  
  
What does it matter if your old MEMORIES are so faded and worn away?  
  
It doesn't. It really doesn't.  
  
Because ANNA is here and you're here with her and that's ALL YOU NEED.  
  
You don't even notice as you pass by YOUNGER VERSIONS of the people who had sent you through the Gate. You don't notice them taking a CLONING TANK that looks exactly like the tank that you EMERGED FROM just hours ago, except NEWER. You don't notice the UNCHARACTERISTICALLY NOT-ANNA like smile on her face as she takes the computer with the FUTURE KNOWLEDGE on it and hands it off to some other SERVANT.  
  
It doesn't matter, it's irrelevant.  
  
Your name is JAKE ENGLISH and you are ANNA... no, her cover identity is NIRRTI. You are Lady Nirrti's FIRST PRIME.  
  
And all is right in the world, you think, linking hands with hers. You will SAVE THE GALAXY from death and destruction, and you... you will...  
  
"It's alright, _ **My Jake,"** _ Your Lady whispers to you, voice ECHOING again. _**"ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD."**_  
  
And she's right.  
  
_**"ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD,"**_ you repeat.

* * *

 

Your name is DANIEL JACKSON, and you're feeling a little bit UNCOMFORTABLE with the plan your BRAIN GHOST USURPER has enacted.  
  
Certain members of SG-1 and SG-2 had been captured and each of them were being told that the rest of their teams had died and now they were HUNDREDS OF YEARS IN THE FUTURE.  
  
Your body jacker has KEPT OUT OF SIGHT from them by way of wearing a SURGEON'S MASK at all times... And it's only their ROCK SOLID GRIP on your body that you haven't been able to break free.  
  
You have no idea why the BRAIN GHOST has been doing any of this shit, or WHY the plan has to involve DREDGING THEIR MEMORIES for something you've been KEPT OUT OF THE LOOP ON, but...  
  
It makes you MIGHTILY UNCOMFORTABLE. Uncomfortable enough to start WRIGGLING for some minor motor functions.  
  
You think if an opportunity presents itself, you MIGHT JUST be able to PULL SOMETHING OFF.  
  
You're probably only going to get ONE SHOT, though.

* * *

 

Your name is TEAL'C. You were once the FIRST PRIME to Apophis... but you decided that just WAS NOT THE PATH FOR YOU.  
  
And so you joined SG-1, and the Tau'ri... the People of EARTH.  
  
If you're being quite honest with yourself, while you put on a mask of SERENE CALM most of the time, you're really just standing there trying to make sense of it all.  
Earth's culture is VERY STRANGE.  
  
The POLITICIANS of the planet are often times just as INFIGHTING AND CONFLICT PRONE as the Goa'uld SYSTEM LORDS, better only in that the vast majority of them don't use SARCOPHAGUS DEVICES- which you've since learned is PRETTY MUCH THE CAUSE OF MOST GOA'ULD INSANITY.  
  
The Tok'ra don't use the things, and they're.... ECCENTRIC, sure, but not INSANE.  
  
Or flat out EVIL.  
  
Evil is another word you would use in a case such as this.  
  
That said... waking up to find that COLONEL O'NEILL, SKAARA, MAJOR STRIDER, and COLONEL FERRETTI were captured by some UNKNOWN GOA'ULD was not a pleasant day.  
  
At the very least, CAPTAIN CARTER was not captured, and you're GRATEFUL FOR THE COMPANY on your return to CHULAK seeking HELP.  
  
Because, it seems that the people high up above GENERAL HAMMOND have decided that SG-1 and SG-2's LOST MEMBERS are LOST CAUSES.  
  
But... there's one thing you've come to understand 100% during your time among your Tau'ri friends...  
  
FRUSTRATION OVER ONES LEADERSHIP IS A UNIVERSAL CONSTANT.


	2. SG1:03X01: Into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thrilling Conclusion? Perhaps. More like a PROLOGUE.

**JANUARY 3RD, 1997.**

Your name, originally, was JAYNI, but you've since grown ACCUSTOMED to the title LADY NIRRTI- SYSTEM LORD.  
  
And your FIRST PLANNED TIMELOOP has been a RESOUNDING SUCCESS.  
  
Well, it almost FAILED, because damn it if that UNTIMELY DEMISE of JAKE HARLEY had meant that you ALMOST LOST ACCESS TO HIS MIND for GOOD... But... You managed to atleast get a decent BRAIN SCAN of his head before he was TOO BADLY DEAD.  
  
Sure, you lost A GOOD CHUNK of his RECENT MEMORIES- only the last FIFTEEN YEARS or SO- and you then went and TAMPERED with A FEW SELECT ONES that you really didn't want him remembering properly- SUCH AS HIS OWN FACE or that of his DEAD WIFE, ANNA CLAIRE.  
  
But it WORKED.  
  
Leave some LOYAL JAFFA here on an ABANDONED WORLD, have them MONITOR, SUPERVISE, AND GROW the CLONE to fruition. Then, when the TIME IS RIGHT, decant the clone, and send him BACK IN TIME with all the proper MENTAL COMMANDS in place.  
  
And if it all goes according to plan, in FIFTEEN YEARS, you and JAKE will be there to see him off to begin with.  
  
It's A LONG AND TIRING PROCESS, but it's one you HAVE TO DO if you want to avoid the ACCELERATED AGING PROCESS rearing its ugly head and CAUSING RAPID ORGAN FAILURE.  
  
Sure, that's a LOT OF TROUBLE to go through just to get a FIRST PRIME. And after all, you ALREADY did source more PROFESSIONAL JAFFA from the PREVIOUS NIRRTI'S FORCES, small as they were...  
  
But what you WANT THE MOST out of ALL OF THIS is his PERSONALITY... his KNOWLEDGE... his IMAGINATION.  
  
You've tampered with him only so minorly so as to ensure that he is LOYAL to YOU, and MORE importantly than loyal, in LOVE.  
  
By adjusting his MEMORIES of his dead wife to LOOK LIKE YOU instead, he will FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE GALAXY. Throw in some BULLCRAP about PREVENTING DISASTERS due to FUTURE KNOWLEDGE- another wonderful resource you're going to RUTHLESSLY EXPLOIT- and Jake will play the part of the UNDERCOVER HERO he's always thought himself to be.  
  
And all YOU have to do is ENCOURAGE IT.  
  
Now, then, onto the first stage of your PLANS...  
  
"Time to make sure 'Seth' gets a house warming party for that Abandoned Lab I sold him," You smile to yourself, and fire off a sort of INTERGALACTIC EMAIL to a certain TOK'RA SPY you're aware of.

* * *

 

Your name is COLONEL JACK O'NEILL and you're quite sure that HELL is run by a RED HEADED GOA'ULD NAMED HATHOR.  
  
She has the four of you- You, SKAARA, FERRETTI, and STRIDER- trapped in A PRISON FORCE FIELD, and didn't even bother summoning JAFFA to her side.  
  
**"We meet again, SG-1, SG-2..."** HATHOR says, strolling across the floor, dressed in her usual LACK OF DRESS and flaunting every inch of skin. A SURGEON stands behind her, looking UNNERVINGLY FAMILIAR despite the fact that you can't see any of their face beyond their EYES. **"I suppose since you've discovered my little Ruse, it's only fair I give you an opportunity to be... Free."**  
  
"Like hell we'll cooperate with you," Ferretti says, glaring at the woman. "Not after what you did to us all the last time."  
  
**"We'll see about that,"** Hathor says, smirking. **"I want two things. The first are your IRIS codes, which, yes, I realize are likely scrambled now that I've held you captive so so long... And the second are the means and method by which you Contacted the Asgard."**  
  
"I could tell you that," you say, "but I don't even really understand half of it myself and you'd probably blow yourself up trying."  
  
Hathor looks at you, amused. **"Oh, my former choice for First Prime. You would be the one behind it, hm?"**  
  
She motions for her SURGEON FRIEND to bring a TANK FORWARDS, a tank that sounds like it's SCREECHING WITH A SYMBIOTE INSIDE.  
  
OH HELL NO, please don't let her choose you.  
  
As the Goa'uld woman reaches into the tank and retrieves a SYMBIOTE, you notice the SURGEON'S EYES FLASH with the telltale signs of a Goa'uld possession.  
Wow. Creepy much?  
  
Except, as Hathor turns around, grinning as she looks at you, a WRITHING SNAKE IN HAND...  
  
You watch as that Surgeon seems to reach behind them and then PULL OUT SOME KIND OF FOUR BLADED KNIFE.  
  
"Heh," Strider chuckles.  
  
**"What?"** Hathor turns to glare at him. **"What is it now?"**  
  
"Nothing," Strider remarks. "I just remembered a joke someone told me the other day about turning your back on a snake nest."  
  
**"How inappropriately timed for you to remember that,"** Hathor dryly remarks. **"Maybe I should-"** And then the FOUR PRONGED KNIFE is thrust through her chest from behind- emerging dead center, likely piercing the lungs. _ **"GHHHRKK!!"**_  
  
Hathor's eyes FLASH in anger as she tries to form some kind of word in her mouth but just can't get the air to do it.  
  
"Yeah, no," Says the surgeon in a VERY FAMILIAR VOICE, "it's rather shockingly appropriate, actually." And then with a TWIST to an angle, DANIEL JACKSON- or the BRAIN GHOST inside his head even- kills HATHOR DEAD by way of a spine breaking SNAP.  
  
Her eyes flash brightly again- but then stay lit, and then... fade, slowly, until finally...  
  
She falls to the floor, and that SYMBIOTE in her hand writhes on the floor, slithering towards you, only to pause outside the shield.  
  
"Daniel?" you ask, glancing down at the snake.  
  
"Yeah... hi..." Daniel removes his FACE MASK. Ah, yep. That would be exactly why you thought he was familiar. "Kind of on a time limit here. Fighting Atum at the moment to keep him from killing you." He picks up the REMOTE from somewhere within Hathor's robes, and turns OFF THE FORCEFIELD.  
  
The Symbiote rears back to jump at your neck.  
  
Your foot punts it into a wall and with a loud CRACK, it falls to the floor dead.  
  
"Daniel!" Skaara grins, starting to walk over towards him.  
  
"WAIT!" Daniel holds his hands out. "Don't! Just! Don't come near me! Just run! Get out of here. There's a Tok'ra somewhere on base. Their tunnels run under it to the Gate. Find them, get out of here."  
  
"But..." Skaara frowns. "What about you?"  
  
"Atum's mad I did this," Daniel says. "I can't... I'm holding him back as best as I can but he's fighting back. Just GO. Get out of here while you still have a chance."  
You nod. "Alright. Let's get out of here, guys."  
  
And so you lead Skaara and the two members of SG-2 to the nearest door.  
  
You actually run into the TOK'RA rather quickly- since she was trying to open the door from the outside right in that moment.  
  
Lucky Break, you guess.

* * *

 

Your name is GEORGE HAMMOND, and it is with some CERTAINTY that you can PROUDLY DECLARE that NONE OF HATHOR'S GUARDS on the other side of the Gate were expecting you and MASTER BRA'TAC to come FLYING THROUGH THE GATE flying one of these NEEDLE THREADER varriations of a DEATH GLIDER.  
  
You're the GUNNER, Bra'tac the Pilot. And YES. HELL YES. ARE YOU HAVING FUN.  
  
Together, you blow up several GUNNER TOWERS and send HATHOR'S FORCES RUNNING FOR THE HILLS as CARTER, TEAL'C, and a small force of CHULAK JAFFA and SG-TEAM MEMBERS exit through the Gate next and LAY DOWN THE LAW.  
  
(The law is that people DO NOT GET TO KIDNAP SGC PERSONELL and EXPECT TO GET AWAY WITH IT. And anyone who breaks that gets put in to SLAMMER. (The Slammer happens to be the EXPLOSIVE FORCE generated by your NEEDLE THREADER's STAFF CANNONS. PCHOO PCHOO! PFWOOOMP!))

You are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN with this.

* * *

 

Your name is SKAARA, and damn it, Hathor just HAD to give you a haircut.

  
It's going to take ages for this to grow out again.

* * *

 

Your name is JUDE HARLEY, and you're starting to agree with ROXY that the POST CHRISTMAS TELEVISION SEASON really, and quite truthfully, SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF YOU.  
  
_"Bwaaah!"_ An Ancient Vampire on THE EGBERT HOUSE TV says, drawing a CLEARLY-NOT-A-WATER-GUN from out of nowhere. _"If we're all trapped down here I'll eat you all for your blood!"_ He fires the gun.  
  
**"Not happening!"** The HEROINE BODYGUARD raises her (Clearly Plastic) SUPER METAL ALLOY SHIELD and the bullets REFLECT OFF of it back into the vampire's head. Bloodlessly, of course, because he's a Vampire and doesn't HAVE A WORKING HEART. (And not just because the producers were too cheap to spring for a fake blood packet.)  
  
_"Quickly!"_ The PROFESSOR the Heroine is BODYGUARDING orders, _"Throw him into the first puzzle vault before he regenerates!"_  
  
And thus some of the RED SHIRT MOOKS do so, throwing the half-dead vampire into a (Painted Styrofoam) STONE VAULT DOOR, and then sealing it shut, and locking it by SPINNING SOME STONE DIALS (More Painted Styrofoam).  
  
_"But Professor!"_ The Heroine Bodyguard complains, _"Now we can't open the third door with the first one closed!!"_  
  
_"We'll just have to find some other way around!"_ The Professor insists.  
  
"THAWAY ROUN!!" JADE, at a little over ONE YEAR OLD, cheers from your lap. Well, at least someone's clearly entertained. On the floor nearby, Rose is more interested in a book, and John is chewing on a BABY SAFE TEETHING TOY- shaped like a green hammer.  
  
"Mrrh," Nepeta, however, just purrs sadly from Cassandra's lap. Cassandra, of course, is sitting next to you on the couch in front of the Egbert's TV.  
  
"You know," Cassandra remarks as she looks down at Nepeta to make sure she's okay, "I don't think a plastic shield would really reflect bullets like that."  
  
"It's a cheap filler show to keep a time slot warm," you point out, "They probably just bought some Captain America halloween costume shield and painted it up to look different."  
  
That's when you hear the phone ring.  
  
You don't get up to get it, as Roxy goes to answer it from another room.  
  
"Hello!" A pause. "Oh! Oh! That's wonderful news! I'll go tell them!" And then she hangs up and comes running into the room, smiling. "They found SG-1 and SG-2 alive and rescued them!"  
  
TV forgotten, you look to Nepeta, who's still blandly staring at the TV. "Nep! They found him!" you say, getting her attention.  
  
"Bwuh?" The cat girl looks up at you, confused.  
  
"They found Davis! He's coming back home!"  
  
And then her eyes and her hair and her wings all light up neon bright as she realizes who you're talking about.  
  
...A second later, she makes the loudest squealing hybrid sound of a cat meowing and bird chirping that you've ever heard made.  
  
Well, NOW she's properly cheered up.

(She doesn't stop glowing until she finally sees her adoptive dad/possibly biologically uncle stepping out of the Gate and has ensured personally that he's unharmed.)

* * *

 

Your name is ROXY EGBERT and you're finally getting back to reviewing a certain DECOMPRESSED VIDEO FILE. Again. This is the fifth or sixth time, you think, that you've watched this one.  
  
_"Hey, Roxy?"_ Joey begins, _"Can I ask you a science question?"_ She pauses, leaving a gap for you to talk, as she always does on this video.  
  
"Sure thing, Jojo," you smile, mostly to yourself.  
  
_"So... Okay. I got the bracelet, and I know what the hell happened to me when I did."_ She points to the PURPLE CRYSTAL on her wrist. _"This one activated and added some of the Arai Polyarch Genetics into my own D.N.A. which, yeah, I get that part. But..."_  
  
And then, just as you take a SIP OF COFFEE, she suddenly SPROUTS GLOWING WINGS. It's surprising as always, but after repeated viewings, you resist the urge to SPIT TAKE, however, quite easily. (It was lucky you weren't drinking anything the first time.)  
  
_"These!? How the hell do THESE even carry my own body weight!? They're not even ATTACHED TO MY OWN BACK!"_ She turns around and runs her hand between the wings and her back. How the hell, indeed? These wings aren't even punching through her clothes! That should be impossible, but evidently isn't.  
  
Joey turns back around to face the camera with a "HOW!?" and you can see the SHEER CONFUSION on her face. _"And I get it for the Arai Beetles, and even the Polyarchs! Their bodies are DESIGNED for this shit! The beetles don't even WEIGH that much! And the Fey was bigger than me, certainly, but she was also LIGHTER too!! I just don't GET IT!?"_  
  
She hangs her head down, and you want to pull her into a hug.  
  
_"I haven't lost any weight or Gained any for that matter! So how does it work, Roxy!? I... I just don't get it."_ Her wings disappear and you honestly have NO IDEA WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN WITH THIS. Not after multiple repeated viewings. _"Could you, uh... run the math for me and figure out how the hell this even works?"_  
She looks like she's going to say something more, and then you hear DISTANT SCREAMING in Alternian. The last few times you've watched this, nobody had gotten around to SUBTITLING this one yet, but you had picked up the names JOEY, XEFROS, and DAMMEK.  
  
Now, it seems, someone DID subtile it, and you gain a bit of terrifying clarity.  
  
"JOEY! XEFROS! SOMEONE! ANYONE!" The subtitles read. "HELP! BRING HELP! DAMMEK'S FAINTED!"  
  
Joey, evidently hearing her own named called, looks panicked, and reaches up immediately to shut off the camera.  
  
Fainting? So Dammek had Fainted?  
  
You search through the files for more from Joey, just to see if any more had been decrypted since then.  
  
You don't find anything else directly after this video, though, about Dammek. Nothing chronologically, that is, except the video that was the first one at the queue to be decrypted, "ATTNCHEYNNEMTN.MP4" in which Joey headlined the MOFANG arriving in your Galaxy, and then "ElabOnATTNCYNMTN.MP4" which hasn't been fully decrypted yet due to its LENGTH.  
  
Whatever happens after this point... Joey seemed to be caught up in A WHIRLWIND of ADVENTURE and didn't have time to record much of anything.  
  
You have no idea if that's a GOOD THING, or a BAD THING related to DAMMEK'S CONDITION, that is.  
  
You hope whatever it is that happened, it was resolved without too much trouble... But even so, you can't help but wonder...

JUST WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED NEXT?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a WHOLE LOT to do in "Into the Fire," I touched on all the points I wanted to touch on from the canonical episode. 
> 
> Next on SG1 Side might be "Seth," but for sure I am doing the one after it, "Fair Game." Oh BOY have I had plans for FAIR GAME. Fair Game is TOTALLY FAIR GAME for BUTTERFLIES!! :D:D:D
> 
> But, that'll have to wait until after we check back in with the Alternia side of things... which will be the next chapter. :33


	3. ALT:02X10: A Mental Block

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callie comes up with a plan to help Dammek.

Distantly, you hear the sound of something LOUD hitting the floor, followed by swearing. You groan, and bury your head deeper into your arms to tune it out.  
A moment later, however, the sound and vibrations of a CUP being placed on the table in front of you makes you life your head out of your arms to look up.  
  
You blink, squinting for a moment, before realizing where you are.  
  
Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you must have fallen asleep in the DINING HALL of the All Your Base.  
  
"Here," TYZIAS ENTYKK says, raising and lowering the cup once more so you can see that it's meant for you. "Thought you could use a pick me up."  
  
"What is it?" You ask, taking it, and peering inside. It looks like Coffee, but... You know TYZIAS' has a habit of putting OTHER STUFF in her mug.  
  
"Actually Coffee this time," Tyzias says, sitting down next to you and pulling out a pen and a book to write in. "Xefros sent me to go wake you up. It's almost time for your shift, he said."  
  
"Ah." You nod, and then take a sip from the cup. Yep, that's actually COFFEE and not anything weird. You ignore the HEAT and the TASTE in favor of just getting it down fast enough to wake yourself up, while also trying not to CHOKE ON IT. Which would be annoying and bad, if that happened.  
  
For a few minutes, you and her sit there at that table. You sipping your drink, and she writing in her book.  
  
You try not to pry, but... damn it, you need something else to distract you from your thoughts.  
  
"What are you writing?" You ask her.  
  
"HRm?" Tyzias blinks, readjusts her glasses, then takes a sip of her own mug- who knows whats in it. "Oh. New Legal System Stuff."  
  
"Legal Systems?" You blink. "But weren't you a programmer? I mean, you helped decode those buggered up files..."  
  
"That's just a job that'd pay the bills if I had bills to pay," Tyzias laughs, tiredly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm good with a keyboard and decoding shit like that, but my passion is Law and Legal Systems." You see her smiling fully- a rarity considering her usually PERSISTENT DEAD-TIRED EXPRESSION. "Plus, it's not like the Rebellion needs a new Law System RIGHT NOW, y'know? But if we succeed, one day we'll need something, so I'm making up my own new system to replace that shitty system Alternia's had in place since His Honorable Tyranny got crushed under his own building all those years ago."  
  
You laugh, a little bit nervously. "Yeah... crazy that, isn't it?"  
  
"I'm still working out the bugs and trying to make it un-corruptible, but..." Tyzias shrugs. "You know how it goes. I've already caught like... ten, twenty loop holes in my own sleep deprived logic that I've had to fill in, and that's just this week alone."  
  
"That's a bit excessive," You frown. "Don't you ever sleep?"  
  
"Hah!" She laughs. "Every now and then, sure, my body just crashes out for like, a week straight! But most of the time, nah. Sleep is..." She frowns. "Well, sleep isn't something that's pleasant for me even with Sopor Slime." She shakes her head. "Anyways! It's about time you get going to med-bay!"  
  
"Right," you nod, and stand up. "Thanks for the Coffee, Tyzias."  
  
"Mmmhmm," Tyzias just nods, and goes back to writing in her DRAFTING BOOK.  
  
You head down the hallways of the ship, wondering if that's what you really need to feel at peace here. You get so CAUGHT UP in doing all this SCIENCE STUFF that half the time you just...   
  
When was the last time you did something for FUN and not for the Rebellion? ...Well, you'd written some FICTION and drawn some ART... but you'd been trying not to do those specific things when it came to REAL LIVE PEOPLE after you ran away to Haven...  
  
Maybe.... maybe you could come up with something original?  
  
You put those thoughts onto a mental shelf as you enter the Med-bay.  
  
Joey and Xefros were just finishing up talking with a nurse, who turned to leave as you enter.  
  
Dammek lay still on a bed, and you stared for a moment before shaking your head and going over to your friends.  
  
"Any change?" You ask.  
  
"They... they think they know what's wrong with him," Xefros says, sounding uncomfortable. "And it's his own damned fault like usual." He looks like he wants to leave, or do something else, but he continues to just stand there, staring after Dammek with a very conflicted look on his face. He doesn't say anything else after that.  
  
Joey looks at him, clearly concerned, but turns to you, and explains, "They say he had a panic attack, which, on its own shouldn't have really done anything, but... it ended up triggering some psychically stressed part of his brain that caused him to just... Lock up."  
  
"How was he 'psychically stressed'?" You ask.  
  
"Controlling that Megaship," Xefros says. "They think he just put too much stress on himself piloting it solo."  
  
"Nurse went to pass that info along to the Cla'dian ship designer who built the interface system," Joey adds, nodding out the door. "Hopefully they'll have some way of helping, but even if not, they'll have to redesign it all for future use."  
  
"So... Is Dammek...?" you glance at the troll, looking for all the world that he was just sound asleep. "Is he going to be okay?"  
  
"There's no way to be sure," Joey says, putting her hands in her jacket's pockets. "Pysically, there's nothing wrong with him, but... I can't get a read on his mind or soul at all. Whatever's happened is basically locking everything that's 'Dammek' behind an iron door I don't have a key for."  
  
"That sounds like Dammek, alright," Xefros sighs. "Always locking himself away from the world."  
  
You three stand there in silence for a bit- mere seconds, but what feels like an eternity, or hours, at the very least.  
  
"So..." You finally ask, "What now?"  
  
"We wait and see if the people who designed the interface have anything that can help," Joey decides. "After that... we try to work up something for ourselves."  
  
You nod in understanding at that, and sit down next to Dammek's bed while Joey and Xefros go off to catch up on other important business.  
  
Well... If Joey couldn't find anything, maybe you can? You reach out with your mind, and probe at Dammek's...  
  
But just like Joey said, there's nothing but AN IRON WALL keeping you out.  
  
And so you sit there and think- brainstorming ideas and possibilities and who knows what else could possibly help. In your desperation of trying to think of a solution, you think back to the brief encounter with your FUTURE TEAM on Haven, and anything that was said during it. But that... that gets you thinking about the STUN GRENADES that Latula made.   
  
A PHYSICAL PARALYTIC and a HALUCENIOGENIC for the MIND...  
  
Would that be enough to keep Dammek's body stable so Joey doesn't need to focus on it, and loosen his mind up enough for Joey, or you, or someone else to look inside and see if you can Root out Dammek from where-ever he's burried inside his own mind?  
  
When Mierfa comes in to trade places with you, you head off to the GATE immediately, barely pausing to tell her about your possibly INSANE PLAN. But you wouldn't be a scientist without testing your hypothesis first. You need a test subject and while you doubt anyone else will be VOLUNTEERING, you might as well BE that Test Subject.  
  
You convince ZEBEDE to dial the Gate to Haven and then head through the gate once he's dialed it up.  
  
You find a SMALL HORN and a SPIN WHEEL set up by the DHD- Latula's little idea of a DOOR BELL that you'd discussed once so many years in the past. You SPIN IT in a pattern that carries through the jungle, and then you head to Latula's GROTTO CAMP.   
  
You meet her a little bit outside of the place, however, and there you tell her your need to get a sample of the SPORES.  
  
You think, by the way Latula frowns, that she won't help you at first, but she nods, and takes you to a LARGE FIELD OF GRASS outside of part of the forest. There, you see COUNTLESS variations of TALL, SOMEWHAT MUSHROOMLIKE plants.  Latula shows you how to safely retrieve the spores from one, and how to SAFELY CONTAIN THEM in a large jar. A VERY. VERY. LARGE JAR. Larger than you likely needed, but it's LARGE ENOUGH to contain all of the spores from this plant. Latula also tells you of what the proper SAFE DOSAGE LEVELS are, and how long the effects generally last.  
  
You return to Alternia with your prize in hand, and show off your HAUL to Okurii, to Joey, and to the NURSE. Of course, they're not too WILLING to test it out on anyone, and that's perfectly understandable.  
  
But you make it PERFECTLY CLEAR that if they don't approve you testing this on yourself first, that you'll just go ahead and do it anyways.  
  
Joey and the Nurse seem taken back by that prospect, but Okurii just shakes her head and remarks, "Good Grief. You two, I swear."  
  
And then you're given permission to RUN YOUR EXPERIMENT.  
  
With Joey and the Nurse supervising through their various means, you inhale a MEASURED DOSE of the paralytic spores, and you kind of.... lose track of time for what feels like an eternity, watching as ORANGE CONSTRUCTION SITE CONES dance around your head.   
  
THEN, you see one of these cones turn into an ARAI BEETLE, which talks in Joey's voice and remarks, "Well.... she was right about the hallucinogenic part, that's for sure." And then you start hearing the CHITTER CHATTER of other ARAI across the ship and...  
  
You sort of space out, chilling from the perspective of one of the beetles sitting by the Stargate for the rest of the time.  
  
It later turns out to actually be a whole Fifteen Minutes, as Latula warned you it would be. But that's besides the point. Joey confirms that your mind was able to successfully link up with the Arai network, and that any MENTAL WALLS you had up were certainly lowered to a point that she could look around inside your head. (Oh. Oh GOSH, you SINCERELY HOPE she didn't find anything you'd wanted locked away and never to be remembered!)  
  
The NURSE also confirms that your body entered a state of complete PARALYSIS, and that these spores, without the hallucinogenic, would probably work WONDERFULLY as an anesthetic in any kind of SURGERY.   
  
And so Okurii clears using them on Dammek, and you insist on going through the process again just to make sure that Dammek comes out the other side of it okay.  
Okurii just laughs, clearing it just the same.  
  
And so, a short while later, you're holding DAMMEK'S HAND in the medbay as Joey and the Nurse prepare for this DIVE into his mind.  
  
"Okay," Joey nods, "we've got the last of the original drugs out of his system. I'm holding his bodily reactions in place, but I can feel his mind starting to race again. Let's get this done fast."  
  
And so the nurse applies a PUFF OF SPORES to both you and Dammek, and then Joey's BRACELET GLOWS GREEN.  
  
The last thing you see out of your own eyes is the concerned sight of Xefros and Okurii watching on from further away. A moment later, you find your view has been YOINKED into looking out from Joey's perspective.   
  
"...Okay, yeah, I don't have to regulate his body. The spores are doing a pretty good job of keeping it regulated." Joey says, and you can FEEL HER RELIEF. "Looking at his mind... and he's... relaxing a bit. Okay. That's good. That's really good. Starting the dive down."  
  
And so your view is then PULLED STRAIGHT DOWN into what your mind visualizes as a SWIRLING MASS OF GLASS SHARDS around a BRONZED METAL SPHERE.  
  
"...Callie? You still there?" Joey's voice echoes around in the void.  
  
[Yeah,] You reply. [I'm here.]  
  
"Okay... giving us avatars..." And then there's a moment of DISORIENTATION, and you and her are suddenly represented by ARAI BEETLES, hovering outside of this swirling mass of GLASS SHARDS. "There. So, what's the plan, Callie?"  
  
[The plan?] You ask.  
  
"I thought you had the plan here!" Joey yelps, indignant.  
  
[Um...] you'll admit you didn't really have that much of a plan in mind. [I didn't think our first obstacle would be a swirling mass of glass shards!]  
  
"Hah," you hear Xefros' voice echo from above you, somewhere. "That sounds like Dammek too."  
  
"What?" You blink. "How did he hear that?"  
  
"I'm actually talking outloud right now, and you're kind of mumbling what you're thinking at me," Joey says. "Everything else? What we're seeing is all inside our heads. "  
  
[Oh,] you blink. [That makes sense.]  
  
"Right..." Joey shakes her head. "Anyways. So... Swirling Glass wall of doom? Ideas?"  
  
[Just one,] You say, hovering over towards it, and giving out a MILD, SOOTHING PULSE of your LIME BLOOD PSYCHIC ABILITIES. It takes a moment, but you're able to SLOW the whirling mass of glass down enough to have an OPENING appear- one large enough for you and Joey to slip through.  
  
You and Joey push through it and-- FWOOOOSH!  
  
You suddenly find yourselves floating over a FAMILIAR SCENE- the DINING ROOM on ALL YOUR BASE, except it's taking place just shortly after the SUCCESSFUL migration of Trolls to Diaspora.  
  
You watch as memories of your past selves raise their glasses and clink them together- everyone is smiling except for Dammek, who... who is standing well off to the side and that's not really how you remember it happening.  
  
"Ohhhh!" Joey, from her spot next to you, "this is one of Dammek's memories."  
  
"It is?" Okurii asks, voice echoing from above just like Xefros' had. "Which one?"  
  
Joey goes on to describe it as you hover over to the representation of DAMMEK in the Memory. As you get close to him, you feel... an ECHO of his thoughts, not from THAT TIME, but from the present him.  
  
 _ **[I didn't do anything,]** _ Dammek's voice bubbles up from somewhere. _**[What am I even really celebrating here, anyways?]**_  
  
You frown- in reality, you feel your mouth frowning- but your Arai avatar doesn't replicate the motion well.   
  
"Does anyone remember what Dammek did when we evacuated the Trolls to Diaspora?" You ask, trying to force yourself to speak out loud clearly.

"He helped me move Grubs from their eggs onto the Arai Beetle train," Joey says, filling in the blank.  
  
[Visualize that memory then!!] You order, then you hover in front of Dammek's face, and broadcast at him: [You DID help, Dammek!]  
  
And thus the Memory SHIFTS- to the Mother Grub's den, where Joey and Dammek worked to move freshly hatched grubs from their Eggs and place them into the secure grip of the Arai Beetles Joey was commanding.  
  
 _ **[I did help, didn't I...?]**_ Dammek's voice returns, confused, as you force a revisit of that last memory on the ship- of EVERYONE, including him, putting your glasses together.  
  
Then, there's a flash, and you suddenly find yourself elsewhere in his memories.  
  
And so you prepare to repeat the process, except... Dammek's self loathing has immediately caught onto your plan, and given you a certain memory you can't explain away.  
  
Joey, Okurii, Dammek, and Xefros in the desert, you'd assume exactly the same, except that things are warped in perspective from behind DARKENED LENSES.  
  
"SERIOUSLY. Bargaining for my life was NOT WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO!" Dammek yells- and you hear his thoughts echo back. _**[You weren't supposed to SAVE ME!!]**_  
  
"What else WERE we supposed to do!?" Past Xefros asks back- but the weight of his words hit back harder than the tone would imply. "You didn't give us orders and Callie had no idea what to do either! She was just about ready to give up and die before Joey and I told her we had a plan!"

Ouch. As much as it pains you to admit, that was pretty much the case. You... you're kind of wondering now... how would have things have gone if you hadn't...? _**NO!**_ This isn't the time or place for such thoughts!!  
  
Dammek stands there for a moment and you hear his thoughts SWIRL AROUND in chaos as he himself revisits the memory.   
  
_**[That's right. It's my fault she's even in this mess to begin with.]** _ And then his fists clench in anger.  "SOME PLAN!" he yells, gesturing wildly at the desert around them. "SOME FUCKING GREAT RESCUE PLAN, XEFROS! REALLY! TOP NOTCH!"  _**[DON'T BOTHER WITH ME.]**_ He turns to look at your projection instead. _**[I'M NOT WORTH IT. JUST LET ME GO.]**_  
  
"THEN WHAT WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO!? TELL ME! BECAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU WANTED ME TO LET YOU JUST DIE, DAMMEK!!" Xefros yells in the memory.  
  
"I DID!" Memory Dammek shouts back. "I WAS CAPTURED! THERE WAS NO TELLING IF TRIZZA WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUT THE GATE BACK TOGETHER OR NOT AND GUESS WHAT- SHE DID ANYWAYS! I COULD HAVE MAYBE ESCAPED ON MY OWN BUT WHAT'S THE POINT!?" He keeps shouting, voice growing hoarse from a lack of water and repeated shouting bursts.   
  
You can  FEEL the pain from the memory of that experience within your own throat in reality.  
  
 _ **[I'M NOT WORTH THIS.]**_ Dammek continues, glaring at you and Joey. _ **[JUST GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND LEAVE ME HERE IN MY OWN MISERY!]**_ "TRIZZA'S OUT THERE IN THE GALAXY SOMEHWERE! WE'RE LOST IN THE DESERT! ANY PLANS THE REBELLION HAD ARE COMPLETELY FUCKED UP BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION! AS LONG AS YOU WERE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE, ALIVE! THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A WIN FOR ME!" He continues. _**[I'M NOT WORTH IT. JUST GO. JUST GO GO GO GO AWAY! I'M NOT WORTH SAVING!!]**_  
  
[YES YOU ARE!] You yell back at him. [YOU ARE WORTH IT BECAUSE FOR ALL THE TROUBLE YOU'VE CAUSED US, YOU'RE OUR FRIEND, DAMMEK!]  
  
"BUT WE ARE ALIVE!!" Xefros yells. "WE'RE OUT HERE IN THE DESERT RIGHT NOW! WE'RE ALL FUCKING ALIVE SO WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR POINT!?"  
  
The memory stutters- halting, with Dammek aiming to say something more.  
  
Joey buzzes over to him. "Dammek... Please. You're scaring us." [Just wake up, please?]  
  
 ** _[But I'm not worth it.]_** He protests, meekly. _ **[I can't be a proper Moirial to Xefros. What made me think for even a moment that I could be one for you, Callie?]**_  
  
"YOU WOULDN'T FUCKING GET IT, XEFROS!!!" The memory of Dammek YELLS, sulking off to hide on his own.  
  
"JUST TRY ME, DAMMEK!" Xefros yells after him. "DAMMEK! DAMMEK!!!"  
  
[You don't have to be perfect right away,] Joey says. [Neither of you do!]  
  
 ** _[But...]_** Dammek protests.   
  
"Xef and I stumbled into it and I'm still not sure I have half of it down right but we're trying!" Joey continues. "That's all you have to do is try to be a better person and you HAVE BEEN. C'mon, Dammek... you're not that stuck up selfish jerk anymore. Give yourself some credit!!"  
  
"...She's right, you know," Xefros' voice interjects from above, and not from his avatar. "You haven't been quite nearly as annoying late- OW!"  
  
"What Xefros Means to say is," Okurii chimes in. "You're doing better than you were back then. You're trying."  
  
[I want you back, Dammek,] you tell him. [I came up with this crazy plan to get to you, locked away inside your head here and I'm not leaving until you come back with us!!]  
  
 _[I...]_ Dammek stares, and it might just be your imagination, but his thoughts stop feeling quite so LOUD. _[...How crazy of a plan are we talking about here?]_  
  
[...Pretty crazy??] you offer. [Alien Spores and Hallucinogenic trips kind of crazy.]  
  
 _[...Okay that's pretty crazy,]_ he agrees. _[But still, I'm not...]_ He looks away, thoughts trailing down into a jumbled feeling of emotions that feels very familiar to you in particular.  
  
[Dammek.] You start... and then just... signal over your own EMOTIONS, rather than words. All of that fear that you'd be hurting people just by sticking around and everything else that made you want to run away in the first place.  
  
The same feelings you'd been talking about just before he'd collapsed in the first place.  
  
You feel Joey waver beside you- "Aww, Callie..."  
  
Dammek blinks, and then says a simple, _[Oh. So I'm doing the exact same thing?]_ You nod, not trusting yourself to speak. _[Except instead of running away to another planet I'm basically trying to hide away inside my own head.]_  
  
"Yup," Joey nods.   
  
_[Well, that's..._ enlightening...] Dammek stands there for a moment, and the DESERT LANDSCAPE MEMORY vanishes, leaving just him, you and Joey floating in a void, represented by Arai Beetles. [...So, what now?]  
  
"Now..." Joey said, swaying in a way that indicated a shrug. "I'm going to pull out for a moment and check to see if your brain activity's returned to normal. If it is, then we just wait for you to wake up, I guess?"  
  
[Cool,] Dammek says.  
  
And then with a POP- Joey's Arai Avatar vanished.  
  
[So...] Dammek begins. [...Uh... Sorry about fainting on you?]  
  
[You damn near gave me a heartattack so yes, you'd better be sorry!] You try to convey a bit of humor to your indignated tone of voice... thought? Thought/voice? Whatever. That. [Dammek. It's fine. It wasn't your fault this happened.]  
  
[It wasn't?] he asks.  
  
[Well... if it were just a panic attack, then we wouldn't have had to go to ALL of this trouble,] you say. [Apparently there was some 'psychic stress' put on your brain from the piloting you did that caused all of this that got amplified somehow.]  
  
[That... makes _zero sense_ to me,] Dammek admits. [But then again, we DID just out run a super nova, Joey got her hands on a bracelet that gives her psychic powers, and we can time travel using solar flares and Stargate wormholes. Who am I to disagree with what the experts say?]  
  
[I feel the same.] You agree. [I don't really understand how this could happen myself, but... I don't know.]  
  
[Are they at least doing something to keep this from happening to any future pilots?] Dammek asks.  
  
[Oh!] You nod. [I was told they're reworking the control systems for the Megaship some how to reduce that stress? I'm not sure how that's going to work exactly, but there it is.]  
  
[Well, that's good, I guess.]

[Yeah,] you agree. [So... uh...] You flutter your avatar's WINGS, nervously. [Do you... do you want to try being Moirails?]

[Part of me wants to say no,] Dammek says, [part of me wants to say yes. I... I don't know.]

[I guess we could just... talk? Doesn't have to be anything like an official Moirailgence, but we could just... Talk about stuff?]

[Talking...] Dammek pauses. [Talking sounds good.]

[Then let's just try talking.] You go to say something else, except that your perspective suddenly is YOINKED back into the perspective looking out from your own skull.  
  
"Mmmrh?" You blink your eyes... and realize that you've "WOKEN UP" as the case may be.  
  
You feel Dammek's hand squeeze yours, though, and then he groans, and mutters something along the lines of "What hit me?"  
  
You think... things might be OKAY.  
  


* * *

 

  
Your name is OKURII LEIJON, and you're PRETTY HAPPY that everything seems to have worked out for the best. Not only has a DANGEROUS FLAW in the MIND CONTROLLED MEGASHIP'S NAVIGATION COMPUTER been identified, but Dammek and Callie seem to have found a POTENTIAL MOIRAILGENCE in each other.   
  
That said, you ARE going to keep them both off of active duty for the next week, just because you have no idea if there are going to be any UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES regarding these STUN SPORES.   
  
But, while you get the feeling that it should work out for the best, still, best not to let word get out that you have access to a world with plants that give off a NATURALLY OCCURRING HALLUCINOGENIC/PARALYTIC SPORE SUBSTANCE. No telling who might go off the deep end trying to get hold of that.  
  
Presently, you're sitting in the HEIRESS' THRONE CHAIR on the Bridge of the ALL YOUR BASE, watching the SUN RISE in the distance. Soon, the Galaxy should have returned to the NORMAL FLOW OF TIME, and the little RESPITE you've had over the last few months to MARSHAL YOUR FORCES and prepare for the rebellion to finally make its GRAND ENTRANCE.  
  
If you didn't know any better, you'd say someone had PLANNED FOR THIS to a T.  
  
The SHORT RANGE RADIO beeps at you from the console, with a pattern identifying the caller as coming from the NEW REBEL HEADQUARTERS down inside the OLD TOWN, and you reach out to receive the call. "This is Okurii," you say, once it's connected.  
  
 _"Teal Command here,"_ comes the reply. _"I've got my team picked and ready for first deploy. We still cleared for launch?"_  
  
You take a deep, stabilizing breath, then nod, mostly to yourself. "Confirmed, Teal Command. Mission to P2X-559 is cleared to launch."   
  
_"Glad to hear it,"_ Teal Command replies.  
  
"Good luck out there, Teal Command," you answer.  
  
 _"Doubt we'll need it, but thanks."_ And with that, the line goes dead, ominously in time with a sudden darkening of the once brightening horizon.  
  
You look up, and see that a STORM is gathering on the horizon.  
  
You suddenly get the feeling that this is going to become a VERY LONG WAR.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooyboy this was a long one to work on. Not sure it came out quite the way I wanted, but I think it's about as best of a result as I'm going to get.
> 
> Couldn't find a way to work in any of today's new TROLL CALL Trolls, but we get some more Tyzias! I think I've got a way to work in the new Jadeblood, but we'll see how things turn out going into the next chapter on Alternia's side.


	4. ALT:02X11: Grilled Leeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey's team uncovers another Mofang plot... but is it the Mofang, or is it their out of control weaponry that is behind it?

On a planet designated in the Alternian Database as P2X-559, but known locally by its natives as SMOULDOUR, things were going fine.  
  
A small band of REBELS had managed to kick the OCCUPYING ALTERNIAN FORCES off of the planet, and were primed to CELEBRATE THEIR VICTORY, when a MOFANG BATTLE CRUISER dropped out of Hyperspace suddenly, falling through the atmosphere, uncontrolled, before crashing bow first into the side of a SMOLDERING VOLCANO- one of just many dotting the planet's half molten surface.  
  
Naturally, an Eruption would ensue.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you're not quite sure about the next step of the plan.  
  
"Hmm..." SEER ALTAIR muses, resting a hand against your REASSEMBLED BRACELET and tries to see what you're meant to DO WITH IT. "...The future is cloudy, and even I, who am Blind, cannot see far. However, the danger posed to the Galaxy by the Heiress Trizza's uncontrolled meddling is much mitigated. For now, a much larger problem looms on the horizon."  
  
"Let me guess," you frown. "The Mofang?"  
  
"Hrm..." SEER ALTAIR frowns. "Yes and No. It is Mofang related, and yet... AH!" They suddenly jerk their hand away from your bracelet, and clutch it as if they'd been scalded. "I have had a vision!"  
  
"Of?" You ask.  
  
"You must Return to Alternia. Quickly! You will find out what this new problem is soon enough!" And that's all Altair says as they shuffle you towards the Stargate.  
  
"Hey, Joey!" Mierfa waves from where she was waiting. "Sup?"  
  
"You must return to Alternia, quickly!" Seer Altair repeats, stressing the point. "Hurry now! Hurry!"  
  
Mierfa frowns. "O...kay. I guess we'll dial it up."  
  
A few moments later, you're heading through the Active Stargate, and just barley see Altair sigh in relief as if some disastrous future has been averted.  
  
You exit the other side in the ALL YOUR BASE'S gate room, and it shuts down without much fuss.   
  
Things have finally started to CALM DOWN here now that operations are in full swing down in the OLD CAVERN TOWN that's become the rest of the Rebellion's CENTRAL HUB. And to think all it took was some FANCY PROGRAMMING on Callie and Tyzias' part to get the two Stargates to react to SPECIFIC COORDINATE SETS on dialing to decide which gate you landed on.   
  
Sure, it was still impossible to go from one Alternia Gate to the Other Alternia Gate, or to have both recieve incoming wormholes at the same time, but you could DIAL OUT at the same time from both, and go to different locations.   
  
Of course, since the ALL YOUR BASE Stargate was ACTIVE FIRST and was programmed for Alternia SPECIFICALLY, it still stubbornly takes PRECIDENCE for anyone just dialing Alternia without one of the two SPECIFICALLY MODIFIED ADDRESSES, but that was just how Okurii liked it. The ALL YOUR BASE's Gate was solidly more defensible with its recently added SHIELD, anyways and a SECOND SHIELD had yet to be installed on the other Stargate.  
  
Why not? POLITICS. And you're WISELY KEEPING OUT of that field of battle.  
  
"Welcome back!" Zebede waves energetically from the control console that's basically become his SECOND HOME for as little time as it's been his assigned station. "You're back early, though. How come?"  
  
"Seer Altair had a vision and shoved us out the door without telling us why," You explain. "They said we'd find out just as soon as we got here."  
  
"Huh," Zebede frowns. "That's weird. We haven't had anything else go weird here yet."  
  
That's when the SIRENS for another UNSCHEDULED INCOMING WORMHOLE buzz, and the GATE BEHIND YOU lights up with the TWHUNK THWUNK THWUNK of incoming chevrons. You and Mierfa quickly move to the side and out of the way as Zebede raises the shield.  
  
"I stand corrected," he mutters, before calling out a BASE WIDE ALERT. "INCOMING WORMHOLE!"   
  
_**WAAA WAAA! KAWOOOSH!**_  
  
It's WEIRD, watching the eventhorizon splash against the SHIELD, and collapse back down, but it's a thing that you're RAPIDLY GETTING USED TO.  
  
"Aaaannnnd..." Zebede pauses, then yells into the radio again, "TC'S AWAY TEAM IDC! LOWERING SHIELD!"  
  
The shield goes down as the sirens stop.   
  
And then a moment later, TWO TROLLS come stumbling through the Gate, carrying a THIRD between them- a thrid who's SCREAMING IN PAIN and is covered in what looks like VERY BAD BURNS- fresh ones too, from how it's smoking.  
  
"MED TEAM TO PRIMARY GATE ROOM!" Zebede yells as you and Mierfa go over to help the two trolls. "MED TEAM TO PRIMARY GATE ROOM!!"  
  
"What happened out there?" You ask, kneeling next to the heavily burnt troll and using a SMALL BURST from the Purple Crystal to check on their status.   
  
"Mofang ship crashed into a volcano," the JADE BLOOD- a girl whose name you think is DARAYA JONJET- explains. "Damned thing exploded."  
  
"Where's Teal Commander?" Mierfa asks of her fellow BLUE BLOOD- a guy whose name you think is MALLEK ADALOV.   
  
"She stayed behind with the town to help get everyone evacuated," he explains, running a hand through is almost mohawk like hair style. "She ordered me and Daraya to get out of there when- when-" He motions at his HEAVILY BURNT TEAMMATE, who you quickly relinquish access to when the NURSES ARIVE. "WHEN BURN! LAVA! FALLING FROM THE SKY!" He shrieks incoherently.   
  
That's when the EVENTHORIZON suddenly STARTS STEAMING.  
  
"What the-?" Zebede asks, surprised.  
  
Oh.  
  
OH NO.  
  
"RAISE THE SHIELD!" you, Mierfa, and Daraya yell at the same time, and Zebede does so without question.  
  
A few seconds later, the WORMHOLE flashes RED as MOLTEN ROCK comes SEEPING THROUGH the eventhorizon, and crashes up against the shield. The STRAINING SOUND it makes is HORRENDOUS.   
  
"SHUT IT DOWN!" you yell. "SHUT IT DOWN NOW!"  
  
"I can't!!" Zebede yells a few seconds later. "It's saying matter is transferring through the wormhole so the control crystal's programming says I can't safely disengage!"  
  
"It's fucking Lava!" Mierfa counters. "Just pull the power now or else we're going to COOK ALIVE!!"  
  
"It won't let me!" he protests, and you growl out a "for crying out loud" before running up there and typing in an OVERRIDE CODE Callie had told you she'd written into the programming.   
  
A WINDOWS STYLE ERROR BOX pops up and asks if you REALLY want to shut down the Gate with incoming matter still in transmission (Any matter not yet arriving would be lost and not saved!), and you most EMPHATICALLY CLICK THE YES BUTTON.  
  
The Gate makes a KEENING SOUND, and then the wormhole disengages.  
  
You leave the shield up, though, because there's still MOLTEN LAVA sitting inside there, and it's still HISSING AGAINST THE SHIELD.  
  
Yeah, that shit needs to go away, and FAST.  
  
You quickly dial back the planet that the kids came from and activate the GATE again.  
  
THE KAWOOSH makes the lava go away in short order, and it's safe to shut down the Gate's shield since it's now outgoing and not incoming.  
  
"How... how did you do that?" Zebede asks, staring at you with something akin to AWE AND RESPECT.   
  
"Callie showed me an emergency shutdown code," You tell him. "In case of a situation just like this."  
  
"She... she was prepared for something like this?" Zebede asks.  
  
"Callie was prepared for a LOT of things when it came to the Stargate," you tell the boy, then grab the radio. "Teal Commander, this is Alternia Base. Come in, TC?"  
  
Nothing but static comes in return.   
  
"Damn it." You think PA said something once about active LAVA FLOWS messing with radio signals. Or maybe it was Roxy? One of the two. "Must be interference. Zebede, keep trying to contact them," you say as you head back down the stairs to the Gate level. You turn your attention back to the Med-team. "How's the kid?"  
  
"It'll be touch and go but they should make it!" A nurse says as they put the poor troll onto a stretcher and carry them away.   
  
"Oh, English, that's a relief," Daraya sighs.   
  
"Woah-" Okurii yelps as she tries to enter the room, only to have to get out of the way to let the nurses carry the poor Troll by. "What the hell happened out there??"  
  
And so the story is retold- with more details.  
  
"We'd successfully knocked the Fleet presence off of the planet," Daraya says. "Then, as we were heading back to the Gate to report back, a Mofang Ship came out of nowhere and crashed into a Volcano. It erupted and Lava went everywhere. It hit just a bit near us and-"  
  
"FIRE! FIRE! Everywhere just FIRE!!!" Poor MALLEK interjects with a cry. "Burns! It Burns! SCREAMING!! SO MUCH SCREAMING!!!"  
  
You motion to Mierfa, and she nods, leading the poor boy away from the Gateroom and hopefully taking him to the med bay for sedation.  
  
"...Yeah..." Daraya shakes her head. "That happened. TC ordered me and Mallek to get back to the Gate while she went into town to help evacuate the citizens into the caves outside of town. We'd just made it to the Gate and got through, then..."  
  
"Then a burst of lava must have hit the Gate," you chime in. "It started coming through the wormhole, so we raised the shield and cut the power to the wormhole. Then we dialed them right back immediately to clear the lava from the shield so we could lower it safely."  
  
"Shit. And Teal Commander?" Okurii asks.  
  
"I didn't get a response on the radio," you tell her.   
  
"Craaap." Okurii puts her hands to her forehead, and massages at it for a moment. "This is not good. This is really not good."  
  
"There's more," you say.  
  
"Of COURSE there is." Okurii gripes, moving to go storm up the stairs to sit on the HEIRESS' CHAIR on the bridge.  
  
"I think this has something to do with why Seer Altair sent me and Mierfa back early," you say. "They said there was some bigger problem than using the bracelet on the Lusus, since we'd gotten it away from Trizza."  
  
"Did they say what?" Okurii asks.  
  
"Beyond that it was partially related to the Mofang? No," you shake your head. "Just that I'd find out when I got back here. And seconds later..." you point at the still active Stargate- through which Zebede is still trying to establish contact with the other side. "A Mofang Ship crashes and causes us trouble."  
  
"Okay, fair point," Okurii frowns.   
  
"I was going to suggest sending something through to check the damage to the area around the Gate," you say. "If it's not too bad, we send a team in, see if Teal Commander's alive, and bring her any people who need evacuating back."  
  
"And you also want to check out the Mofang ship, I guess," Okurii states rather then guesses, really.  
  
"Pretty much," you nod.   
  
"Okay." She sighs. "Figure out who you want on your team. I'd suggest you take Tyzias instead of Callie, though."  
  
"Huh?" You ask, frowning. "Okay, fine, I'll take her, but what makes you think I was going to ask Callie to come along?" You weren't. You know she and Dammek both need the TIME OFF and away from STRESSFUL REBELLION STUFF.  
  
"Didn't think you would. Maybe I misspoke," Okurii said, giving you a STRANGE SORT OF SMILE- one that she's been getting more and more lately when she does something especially LEADERY. "All I meant was that I was just giving you an option to fill a team slot, that's all."  
  
"...Okay, fair enough," you nod. "Should I go do that now, or...?"  
  
"Wait until we get some solid info on the other side of the gate," Okurii says. "No sense preparing to leave if all that'll be on the other side is death by lava."  
  
"...Yeah, that's true." You nod.

* * *

 

A SMALL, REMOTE CONTROLLED MODEL SPACESHIP that reminds you of one of those REMOTE CONTROLLED TOY AIRPLANES that they'd started advertising on TV a little bit before you left for Alternia is sent through the Stargate with a CAMERA MOUNTED onto it.  
  
There's a brief blip of static on the feed as it travels across the wormhole, and then EMERGES intact- although the STATIC REMAINS.  
  
The area around the Stargate looks unsurprisingly VOLCANIC. Thankfully, it seems that your idea of DIALING BACK so quickly after shutting the wormhole down had lead to a LARGE CIRCULAR HOLE being punched through the BIG GLOB OF LAVA that had hit the Gate. That lava seems to have COOLED a bit into a sort of BRACE against the front side of the Stargate and its ramp.  
  
There's no sign of the DHD however, which is ODD, considering the fact that the area where the DHD SHOULD BE is clean of any lava. In fact, the road beyond the Stargate seems UNTOUCHED as well. Okurii orders to look at the VOLCANO, and the view shows that things seem to have STABILIZED SOMEWHAT. Well, as stable as a MOUNTAIN WITH A MOFANG SHIP crashed through it can be.  
  
"We'll do a fly over of the village," Okurii decides. "See how things are there."  
  
However, as the DRONE gets closer to the Village, the feed becomes overwhelmed by static and then it suddenly CUTS OUT.  
  
"...That's probably the same interference that's keeping the radios down," you say.   
  
"Probably," Okurii sighs. "Zebede, keep the gate running just incase someone comes by the Gate, and keep radioing every minute just in case." She looks to you, "Joey, get your team geared up in the Desert environment suits. It's as close to lava proof as I can think of."  
  
"Got it," you nod.

* * *

 

Your team emerges from the Stargate on P2X-559 but a few minutes later, dressed to impress in those SAME DESERT SUITS you and everyone wore when you first went out into the desert after the Base had crashed and you stumbled upon the TROLLS that lived there.  
  
"Watch your step," you warn as you try to navigate down the STAIRS- which were similarly doused earlier in MOLTEN LAVA.  
It's STRANGELY, almost 100% COOLED by now. You wouldn't have thought it would have cooled that quickly.  
  
Also just as strange is the TEMPERATURE of the air around you.  
  
In the heavy bulky DESERT GRADE SUN PROOF GEAR- in the desert you were sweating something fierce, and even just heading through the Base to the Gate room, it was pretty warm...  
  
You feel COLD after having stepped through the gate. Honestly, it feels like COLD DECEMBER WEATHER more than VOLCANO PLANET WEATHER.  
  
"Is it just me?" Xefros asks. "Or is there something weird going on with the heat levels in this place?"  
  
"Uhh..." Tyzias shuffles around with her bag full of EQUIPMENT and pulls out a scanner of some kind. "...Yeah, that's not just you. Temperature's almost to freezing levels."  
  
You look up at the sky- a little SMOKY from the recent erruption, but... not enough to DROP THE TEMPERATURE so low.  
  
"Freezing?" Mierfa asks, confounded. "How can the weather drop to Freezing levels when this planet's half covered in molten lava!?"  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this," You sigh. "C'mon, let's check out the village."  
  
The walk to the village is painfully slow- the sheer cold temperatures make walking at a brisk pace all the more important, but it still feels like you're marching through a slog of unfathomable SLOWNESS.   
  
It's like something is just absorbing and consuming all of the energy around you.  
  
Is it time dilation again, you wonder? But no, that can't be it. You wouldn't notice if it was time dilation.  
  
Half way to the village, you find the downed CAMERA DRONE... or what's left of it, that is.  
  
"The hell?" Tyzias kneels down to look at the poor drone. "This thing's been scavenged for parts! All the expensive ones, too. Power Core's gone. Motors are gone. Oooh, camera too. And the parts that havent... they've been... melted??" She picks at a piece of the plastic shell, and snaps off a section that just... falls apart in her hand. "Or... uh... no, not melted, more like... uh... that thing where teeth get holes in them when they're missing something."  
  
"Cavities?" You frown. "You're saying the Drone came down with a deadly case of Cavities??"  
  
"Sure, let's go with that," Tyzias says, standing up. "Can we leave now?"  
  
"We gotta see if TC's still alive," Mierfa says, shaking her head.   
  
"Drat," Tyzias says, annoyed.   
  
The rest of the way, you feel the temperature get even COLDER- and it's not your imagination either. Frost has begun forming on the ground, and the thermometer device Tyzias has is reporting DECREASING TEMPERATURES.  
  
Even the VOLCANO with the crashed ship in it has stopped smoldering. That's TERRIFYING, and also ENLIGHTENING, as SNOW has begun FALLING on the Volcano as well.  
  
Snow! Of all the places...  
  
When you finally reach the village, you find that the whole place is ABANDONED, and, worse, is in a state VERY SIMILAR TO THE DRONE, except for one major difference.  
  
There are[ RED LINED, BLACK METAL, FOUR LEGGED MECHANICAL SPIDERS](https://78.media.tumblr.com/d4f3604ea5573bd26459a5d4d63cf55e/tumblr_oy16goKgWP1vxvb19o2_r1_1280.png) crawling around on everything. Some are glowing a SOFT ENERGETIC RED beneath their frames as they CONSUME MATERIALS from the buildings. Others are glowing a BRIGHTER, TERRIFYING RED as they begin CREATING MORE OF THEMSELVES.  
  
All four of you quickly duck behind a rock and hide out of sight of the FOUR LEGGED SPIDERS.  
  
"Oh what the fuck are those!?" Mierfa asks, voice a harsh whisper.  
  
"Mofang technology," Xefros states the obvious. "They're... they're eating the buildings and making more of themselves?"  
  
"That explains the downed drone," Tyzias says. "They tore out whatever materials from it they wanted and are using it for replicating themselves."  
  
"Where are the people, though?" Xefros asks. "I... I'm not sensing any Death Echoes, but that might not be a good thing."  
  
"That's a good question," You frown. "I could send some Arai out to look for them, but I'm pretty sure these 'Replicator' things would notice and get mad pretty quickly. If there aren't any death echoes here, then they're probably still alive somewhere. Maybe in the cave systems Daraya mentioned?"   
  
"Maybe they're alive there. Or maybe they got killed there." You and Xefros glance at Tyzias as she says that. "...What?" She points at a building, and says, "Those buildings look like they've got some organic materials. In the roofing. The bugs're eating it too. I wouldn't hold out much hope for the people living here to be still alive."  
  
"Fair point, but still. Better to check." You look to your Radio, and risk activating it. "TC, this is Claire, come in?"  
  
Nothing but static returns. You look at the Replicators eating the village, and see that... they didn't notice.  
  
The Bugs are still eating the village.  
  
"Well," Tyzias notes with a twinge of morbid humor, "at least they're too busy making babies to try and kill us."  
  
"Enough of that," Mierfa growls, faintly. "Do we go check out the caves or the ship?"  
  
"Much as I hate to say it, the ship is probably a death trap," you say. "I'll bet you these spiders are a Mofang experiment that got loose. That's probably why the Mofang ship crashed in the first place."  
  
"Yeah," Xefros nods. "They wouldn't risk crashing a ship intentionally- not after losing Karfin Outpost."  
  
"Why were they so interested in that place anyways?" Tyzias asks. "I never did find out."  
  
"Neither did we," Mierfa answers. "Best I could ever figure was that they were having a resource problem on Soria that they could fill better from Karfin Out... post..."   
  
You all go silent.  
  
"Resource Problem," you repeat, glancing at the MECHANICAL MENACE eating buildings up. "Do you think that maybe..." you gulp. "Maybe these Replicator things are loose on Soria? That's why the Emperor was so insistent on getting Karfin Outpost back?"  
  
"If that's the case, then maybe... maybe they were researching a way to fight back?" Xefros offers another possible answer.   
  
"Or maybe it's worse than that," Tyzias says, voice grim.  
  
"Worse how?" Mierfa asks.  
  
"What if Karfin Outpost was supposed to be their new homeworld?" Tyzias offers... and you all feel a chill down your spines that isn't related the cold temperatures.  
  
"That's..." You shake your head. "It doesn't matter if that's the case or not. We need to go to the Tunnels and see if anyone's alive in there."  
  
Nods accompany your decision, and soon your team is sneaking out around the Village, trying to avoid the Replicators consuming everything in sight.  
  
"Here's a puzzle," Tyzias asks, mostly to herself it sounds like, as you sneak around the village. "Why the hell is it getting so much colder?"  
  
"Dunno," Xefros answers, "why?"  
  
"I think it's The Replicators," she says. "If they were on the ship that crashed head first into a volcano, they've already got access to the planet's submantle. That's all kinds of raw materials in a mostly liquid state that'd probably be easier to consume than solid matter. If they eat it fast enough, and replicate fast enough, then they could spread out beneath the planet's surface and start eating everything else." Her voice grows as cold as the temperature around you. "They get down far enough, they get access to the planet's core. Which they then start consuming en-mass and starts slowing the planet's speed down, then-"  
  
"That's not helping, Tyzias!" Mierfa cuts the girl off with a hissed interjection. "That's really not helping!"  
  
"Just sayin'..." the Teal Blood shrugs. "It'd explain a whole lot."

* * *

 

A few more minutes pass in silence as you finally leave the town behind you, and soon, you've found a LARGE TUNNEL ENTRACE that looks to be the HIDING PLACE Daraya said TC would be leading people to.  
  
"...What about the DHD?" Tyzias suddenly asks.  
  
"What?" You ask in return as you get your TRUSTY FLASHLIGHT out and click it on. The tunnels look RECENTLY TRAVERSED, going by the dust pattern on the floor.  
  
"The Dial Home Device." She says. "It was missing from where it should have been by the Gate. Which is why I brought our own dialing computer and a small power source. Did the Replicators eat the one here? But it was missing almost immediately after you dialed back in, and that's an insane consumption speed if that's the case. And if they DID eat it, why didn't they eat the Stargate in that same amount of time?"  
  
"Because it was active?" You offer.  
  
"Maybe," Tyzias pauses, "Or maybe they want to use it to move to other planets?"  
  
"...We need to find those people and get off world asap," you decide, and push forwards into the tunnels.  
  
As you go down into the tunnels, you notice the temperature rising subtly. And then a bit more noticeably higher and higher. Then Xefros complains about SENSING DEATH ECHOES, and you feel a PING from the Red Crystal confirming that as well.  
  
That's when you hear the sound of MECHANICAL WHIRRING and CHATTERING accompanying the sounds of people SHUFFLING their feet across the floor.  
  
You turn off your flashlight, and everyone closes up against a wall.  
  
A few moments later, you come to an OPEN CHAMBER, and find that there aren't any survivors. Everyone, including TEAL COMMANDER, who is standing there, moving around, are just being puppeted around by EXO SUITS made up of those Mofang Designed Replicators.   
  
There are even a few MOFANG caught up in exo suits just like that, except looking MUCH MORE DECAYED.   
  
They've been DEAD for a lot longer.  
  
As for what they're doing? They're CANNIBALIZING THE DHD- not eaten, but STOLEN- for parts that they're fitting into a frame of what looks like a Stargate Chevron made out of REPLICATORS. Except for the fact that this one piece alone is a HELL OF A LOT BIGGER than any Stargate you've ever seen. Infact, at the size it's currently at, you'd say it'd BARELY manage to squeeze through a normal sized Stargate.  
  
None of you dare speak a word. None of you dare do anything but silently begin backtracking through the tunnels and head back to the surface. It's only when you get to the entrance, and find a small place to hide out of sight from anybody who might exit the tunnel, that any of you dare open your mouthes.  
  
Most of it is intense screaming muted as quietly as possible into loud, shrill, squeals of terror.  
  
"They're building a Fucking Giant Stargate," Tyzias summarizes your fears. "They're cannibalizing the planet to make a giant. FUCKING. Stargate!?"  
  
"What the hell could even fit through a Stargate that big?" Xefros asks.  
  
"Space ships," Mierfa says, mind clearly jumping to the worst possible conclusion. "It's a SPACESHIP sized STARGATE."  
  
"That's why the Mofang wanted Karfin Outpost," You suddenly realize. "They wanted the planet's resources to build a- a- A SUPERGATE!"  
  
"More than just one, too," Xefros says. "You have to have two just to have the bare minimum of a network!"  
  
"What if it's not in this Galaxy?" You ask, mind racing to your own worst possible conclusion. "What if they're going to try dialing Milky Way? Or some other Galaxy??"  
  
"The Power Requirements alone would be tremendous," Tyzias says, gasping. "You'd need something fucking huge to power something that big for a normal jump within the galaxy itself. Going intergalactic would be...!"  
  
"We have to stop this," Xefros says. "We have to fucking stop this somehow."  
  
"How the fuck do we stop them??" Mierfa asks. "It's not like we have a bomb on hand that could destroy something like that!"  
  
 ** _WHIIIRRRRRRR_ -CLICK.**  
  
You all stop, and slowly, ever so slowly, turn and look around back at the tunnel entrance.  
  
There, you see TEAL COMMANDER, standing like a silent sentinel, staring at you with blank, dead eyes.  
  
The Bracelet on your wrist has sparked and you're throwing a hand coated in RED AND BLUE ENERGY at her before you even realize what's going on.  
  
 _ **WHA-CLANGK!!!**_  
  
The Replicator exo-suit is RIPPED TO PIECES and scattered away from TC, leaving her body to COLAPSE to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.  
  
"Grab her body!" You order, glancing at the YELLOW CRYSTAL, sparking on your wrist. "Run for the Gate NOW!"  
  
"What are you going to do?" Xefros asks, staring at you with concern in his eyes while Tyzias and Mierfa do as you asked and grab TC's body. Mierfa just shoves it in her Sylladex for ease of movement and you're just GLAD that it even worked.  
  
"I'm going to make sure that they never get off this planet with that part of the Supergate!" You say, channeling your TRAINING and gathering up PSYCHIC ENERGIES around your hands and your eyes. From your SYLLADEX, you eject a few ARAI BEETLES and spread the energies to them as well, making sure to use PURPLE to buff their bodies up enough to withstand this next attempt. "Get clear, and I'll catch up with you in a minute."  
  
"Right," Xefros nods, and he, Tyzias, and Mierfa run away from the SOON TO BE BLAST RADIUS.  
  
You turn your attention to the tunnel, and you hear the CLITTER CLATTER of Replicators marching IN SWARM up the tunnel.  
  
You take a deep breath, and focus your mind on the SPACE of it all. Where the Construction site was, where the tunnels you went were going, and how tall the mountain itself is.  
  
You send the Arai Beetles upwards to stare down, and you aim to engulf the entire mountain in general.  
  
Well, if Trizza could vaporise a mountain after getting clonked on the head and in pain, how much can you do while FEARING FOR YOUR LIFE?  
  
You're about to find you, you guess.  
  
With a deep breath, you put all your EMOTIONS into the bracelet, and aim your hand at the tunnel entrance.  
  
And then you SCREAM, and then everything infront of you just VAPORIZES into beams of RED AND BLUE LIGHT.  
  
By the time you come to your senses a few seconds later, you're staring at a LARGE TRENCH SHAPED CRATER that goes downwards for miles, and is nothing but GLASS.  
  
Your head feels LIGHT AND FUZZY, but- yeah. They're not getting that Stargate piece back any time soon.  
  
You run after your team and join them on the run back to the Gate.  
  
As you run, though, you glance at the MOFANG SHIP and you realize- You can't just leave this job half done.  
  
By the time you get to the Gate, inactive, and surprisingly FREE OF VOLCANIC ROCK, you've made a plan.  
  
"Dial the Gate!" you order, spreading out some more ARAI BEETLES, buffing them, and then positioning them at the angles you want.  
  
Tyzias begins dialing, and you build up your MENTAL WILLPOWER again- this time including some of the FEAR of your own potential into the mix just to give it an even BIGGER BOOST- and by the time the _**WAA WAA KAWOOSH**_ happens, your ARAI BEETLES are in position.  
  
"Go! Now!" You order, and then, as Mierfa and Tyzias go through, you take your DEEP BREATH, keeping the angles of everything in mind...  
  
And then you ROAR.  
  
You DENY the Mofang and their Replicators their PLAN- at least, for today.  
  
Your attack on that Volcano with the ship in it results in a blast of energy that turns PURPLE from how rapidly the Red and Blue beams merge together.  
  
By the time you finish, and are panting for breath, you're realizing that you might have gone A LITTLE OVERBOARD.  
  
Because Xefros is dragging you through the gate and that VOLCANO has basically become engulfed in a MASSIVE CLOUD that looks HEAVILY DISTORTED by FLYING CHUNKS OF LAVA and what you're pretty sure is an EVEN LARGER SHOCK WAVE.  
  
You're through the gate before you can even process what you're seeing.  
  
And then you collapse into your Moirail's arms and cry in terror at your own acts of DESTRUCTIVE POWER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joey realized in that moment just how important it is for her to KEEP CONTROL over her emotions.


	5. ALT:03X01: Tears for Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which people sort through some emotional shit.

On Alternia, a body burns in the desert beneath the stars.  
  
The Rebellion's major commanders stand at attention, both present, and world wide, in mourning of the loss of someone so prominent.  
  
More importantly, at the burning itself, a young teenaged girl from EARTH stands at attention, hands held both with her MOIRAIL and her MATESPRIT. Although it has been TWO YEARS since she arrived on Alternia, it feels like so much less than that. TIME SURE FLIES when you're supposedly having fun, and also caught up inside the TIME DILATION FIELD of an ALIEN SUPER WEAPON. In another few months, it will be her SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY, and although it was sixteen years ago that she was given life, it is this upcoming one that feels all the more important, some how.  
  
Not just because of the fact that it's been TWO YEARS since leaving her home planet, and not just because she has ROMANTIC PARTNERS in an ALIEN ROMANCE SYSTEM, and not even just BECAUSE THE FATE OF THE GALAXY COULD BE AT STAKE.  
  
But... it's especially a poignant anniversary looming on the horizon because she is NOT QUITE HUMAN anymore, and she is very well aware of it, just as much as she's aware of the weight of the BRACELET around her left wrist.  
  
And the name of this young girl?

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and ostensibly, you're standing at the ready in front of a CAMERA, ready to record everything you need to say.  
  
Except, you're NOT QUITE READY. You've been standing here trying to work up the nerves to start recording for the last ten minutes.  
  
You have so much you want to say and yet...  
  
And yet you can't build up the nerve. You feel like the camera is just going to JUDGE YOU for everything you did. BLOWING UP that planet's surface the way you did was necessary and yet... and yet...  
  
You- you- You need to talk with Xefros before you explode something else.

* * *

 

Your name is XEFROS TRITOH, and you've been expecting Joey to come talk to you for the last day or so. It's been busy since you got back from that planet. Joey basically crashed after blowing up that mountain and slept through the rest of the Day/Night/Sleeping Hours. The next morning, to use a computer analogy, was basically running in safemode during the FUNERAL for Teal Commander. She'd retreated to her room, ostensibly to do a recording about the funeral, and yet... You haven't heard a word from her yet.  
  
So, you left your room's door open and waited for Joey to come to you when she was ready.  
  
And come in she did, slamming the door behind her and looking panicked as hell. Then, she sits down next to you, and patiently waits for you to put your tablet up on the desk.  
  
"Am I a monster?" She asks the moment she's sure you're ready to listen.  
  
"What?" You ask.  
  
"I blew up TWO MOUNTAINS, Xefros!" She throws her arms out wide to try to show the size of it. "TWO! MOUNTAINS!"  
  
"Well, we had to stop the Replicators somehow," you say, "and we had the power to do that with the Bracelet."  
  
"Well, yeah," Joey frowns. "But... I blew up two mountains!! And worse than that- I- I VAPORIZED those poor people!"  
  
"If those people went through anything like Teal Commander went through," you tell her, "then being vaporized would be a relief for them, Joey."  
  
You don't want to think about the details of AUTOPSY REPORT that you sneaked a glance at any more than you absolutely have to.  
  
"I..." She frowns. "Yeah. I guess. I'm just... I'm scared if I lose control over my emotions then I might blow up the base, or some other planet or- or-" She shakes her head. "I can't deal with that kind of pressure on me."  
  
"I think we have two options." You say. "First one is we take the Yellow Crystal off and put it somewhere where you can't use it," you offer. "Not until we need it."  
  
"I'm not sure any of these are going to come OFF again," Joey says, holding up her left arm, and the bracelet on it that refuses to come off. "They seem pretty _attached._ " The way she stresses 'attached' makes it clear she's trying to make light out of the CLINGY MACGUFFIN's refusal to come off.  
  
"Heh," you smile. "Puns aside. Option two is to keep doing what Fey had you doing for Administration- we train so you have to willingly want to use the power to funnel any emotions into it." You pause. "Or, we could figure out how to put some kind of password lock on it."  
  
"How would we do that?" Joey asks of you.  
  
"I'll think on it," you say. "But easiest thing I can think of is a three way verbal password so you don't accidentally just think the code and unlock the destructive appleberry psychoblasts."  
  
"Three way?" Joey asks.  
  
"You, me, and Mierfa," you say.  
  
"That..." Joey smiles as she thinks on it. "Yeah. I think I like the idea of that."  
  
"Feel better now?" You ask.  
  
"I could use a hug?" Joey answers, and so you give her a tight one along with a comforting head pat or three. "...Thanks, Xef."  
  
"Anytime, Joey," you answer.  
  
For the next half hour or so, you and Joey work in relative silence on finalizing the SONG you've both been working on. Joey's still a bit upset, but she's working through it by working on the music. Somehow, in this process, you've ended up with TWO DIFFERENT, ALMOST COMPLETED VERSIONS of the background music itself, and you're not sure which one to go with.  
  
It's a battle of the mind, that's for sure.  
  
Wait.  
  
Waaaiiit.  
  
That could rhyme with that lyric instead of what you already have and-  
  
OH!! YES. This could work.  
  
"Hey, Joey?" Your name is XEFROS TRITOH, and you've got a BRILLIANT IDEA how to cheer your MOIRAIL UP!  
  
"Yeah?" She asks.  
  
"I've got an idea."

* * *

 

"Hey, Okurii!" Xefros suddenly asks you that afternoon. "Are there any off world teams right now?"  
  
You, being Okurii Leijon, frown at him. "No. Why?"  
  
"Can I borrow the Gateroom for a couple of hours? I want to film something in front of the Gate and in front of the bridge window."  
  
"..." You take in his HOPEFUL APPEARANCE, and the tentative smile on his face and DAMN IT you can't say no to that... But you won't make it easy for him. "Sure. Just file the right paperwork first."  
  
"Hah!" Xefros pauses a moment, then says, "Do we actually have paperwork for this sort of thing?"  
  
...Aaaaand now you feel bad.  
  
"...No, it was a joke." You tell him.  
  
"Oh! Cool!" And thus he cheers.

* * *

 

TWO GRUB TUBE VIDEOS are uploaded to "THE GRUBBELS (OFFICIAL)" account in rapid succession. The first is titled "[GRAVITY HURTS (Ver 1 Lyrics)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIPz6m3JAy4)" and the second is "[GRAVITY HURTS (Ver 2 Lyrics)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmQzLkaJQZ0)" and both have an addendum of "+Note to Fans!" at the end of both.  
  
It is the first video uploaded to the account in over an ENTIRE SOLAR SWEEP. Fans everywhere of the group snap to attention as their FAVORITE BAND finally makes their presence known.  
  
In the description of both videos reads the following text:  
  
"Hey, Grubbels Fans! Been a while, huh? If you've been paying to recent events you probably noticed that we Band members have been spotted doing some BIG REBELLION STUFF! That's true, but just because we're busy saving the world doesn't mean we haven't been hard at work writing new songs! Problem is: we've got some lyrics and tone differences, and we can't figure out which to use as the official version! So here's a choice for you fans, whichever version of this song gets the most likes gets to become the official mix going forwards! I- RUST BUTTLER- am singing Version 1, and a teammate of ours from another world is singing Version 2! Tell us which you like best with your Likes!"

Your name is DAMMEK, and you're kind of just staring, blankly, as you watch both videos.  
  
The first video is Xefros, in costume naturally, singing in front of the Base's Stargate (Set to pulse the chevrons's light up feature in time with the music, of course. (You suppose you should thank the Heiress for designing that gaudy feature in retrospect, but, meh)) without the use of the AUTO TUNE MIC you'd made him. You suppose it makes sense that he wouldn't use it, since it didn't get brought with you to the BASE, and yet...  
  
You feel a little ticked off that he went un-voice-masked. You guess it doesn't matter anymore, since you've both been spotted by SOME EAGLE EYED FANS as working for the Rebellion in recent months, but still.  
  
The comments seem to applaud Xefros's singing with things like "FINALLY! You ditched the Autotune and the Rapping!" and "You have an amazing voice!" and that just makes you feel a little bad too. Were you really hurting things by trying to protect your Identities all that much?  
  
The second video, though, is just of Joey. No Costume, no fancy set, or anything of the sort. She's just sitting on one of the consoles of the Bridge, staring out into the night sky while she sings the song and some Arai Beetles swirl around her. You never thought her the type, honestly. You'd have thought she'd be more embarrassed by the idea, but... hell, you don't really know her all that well, all things considered.  
  
Going by the Comments section, people seem to think the BEETLES ARE FAKED for the Song, and are APPLAUDING the "amazing, lifelike CGI" used to make them and the LIGHTING EFFECTS.  
  
You sneak in a comment and tell them, "This is Bronze Drummer, and yeah, no. Those Beetles are real as shit and don't show up to my Communing senses either. So no, don't ask me if I'm making them do that. I'm not." And OH BOY does that start up a comment war. Heh.  
  
AH, but watching comment wars can only entertain you for so far.  
  
So you get up from your COUCH, slinging the tablet under your arm as you go to the door and look out into the hallways, wondering for a moment where to go first.  
  
You go to your .... Your Moriail's room, you guess you'll settle for now.  
  
You find Callie's door unlocked already, and peer inside. She's humming away as she PAINTS SOMETHING FRIGHTENINGLY FAMILIAR on a large canvas, a pair of HEADPHONES rest over her ears, and she's clearly wrapped up in her work.  
  
The PAINTING she's working on is of a LARGE, GREEN SUN being consumed by a BLACK HOLE, with its stellar mass spiraling off to the side. It almost looks like HALF OF A SKULL.  
  
MORBID as her work appears to you, Callie is clearly caught up in her work and you'd hate to disturb her.  
  
A Girl needs her hobbies, you'll tell anyone who complains to you.  
  
You head down to the MESS HALL, and find Joey and Xefros fielding questions from random Trolls about the songs they'd posted. You wave at them to get their attention, and- with a surprisingly grateful smile on Xefros' face- the two come over to talk with you after making their excuses to the Random Background Filler.  
  
"Sup?" Joey asks.  
  
"Saw the songs you posted," you tell them. "Liked 'em, though it sounded weird to my ears using those drum synths instead of my set."  
  
"Well, we couldn't find your drum set in the hold anywhere," Xefros shrugs. "And it was kind of a spur of the moment thing anyways so we didn't want to waste time sending someone out to your hive to look for your drums for what basically amounted to a like contest."  
  
"Fair enough," you say. "To be honest, I probably should have sent for those things ages ago. I've been kind of itching to get back to drumming last couple of days."  
  
"Hey," Xefros says, snapping his fingers. "Let's go ahead and send someone out to search your hive for your old Drums, and if they're still there, get them out here. And if someone stole 'em, then we'll buy a new set from Scythian. And if the timing works out for either one, hopefully by the time they get here we'll be ready to record the final version of the song!"  
  
"That..." You blink. "You really want to have me work on a song with you two?"  
  
Xefros pauses for a moment, and Joey elbows him in the arm to get his brain moving again. "Yeah." He nods. "Even if we aren't Moirails and are kinda technically still being Auspitized by Okurii... that doesn't mean we can't still work on music."  
  
And just like that, a weighted vice you didn't know was clamping down on your heart let go by just a little bit.

"Thanks, Xefros," you say. "That sounds like fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortish chapter that I threw together while still working on the next SG1 chapter (Fair Game Fair Game FAIRGAMEGAIRGAME) that's taking a bit longer to put together than I thought it would.


	6. SG1:03X03: Fair Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh the webs we do weave, when we practice to deceive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typo Editing has been done. Sorry for errors, had to rush this chapter out the door yesterday. If you see any more errors in this chapter please let me know.

**JANUARY 17TH, 1997.**  
  
Your name is COLONEL JACK O'NEILL, and you're feeling PRETTY PROUD.  
  
Just last week you and your Team got a TIP OFF from the TOK'RA getting a TIP OFF that a Dangerous GOA'ULD named SETESH was hiding out on Earth and had been since RA had been in power and pretty much stayed here when Khepri took over and left.  
  
And yeah. That was a... That was an adventure in and of itself. Brainwashing, Cults, and all sorts of other "FUN" things going on within that SECRET BASE in WASHINGTON STATE.  
  
Little Miss KA'TURNAL though seemed off put by it, though, for reasons she summarized as "There had once been plans to make a Laboratory at that location, but they never were finalized to my knowledge."  
  
You figure she probably DID know it existed and that was a legitimate place Nirrti would hide out, but... She DID seem genuinely surprised that SETESH had taken over the place.  
  
Still, whatever GOA'ULD'Y nonsense that's bugging Ka'turnal, it doesn't matter.  
  
CARTER is finally getting a well earned PROMOTION, from CAPTAIN to MAJOR. It's going to be a SURPRISE, a well deserved on, and, honestly, it's ABOUT DAMNED TIME. You get that Strider got several PAY BUMPS and understand why he did get them, but still, it was WEIRDLY FAST for just about everyone- Strider included among them. (You think some of this JOLINAR AMBASSADOR stuff made the higher ups get cold feet but you're not going to mention that to anyone.)  
  
Still. Today's going to be a good day!  


* * *

  
The PROMOTION CEREMONY had only BARLEY JUST STARTED when you were suddenly UPROOTED into SPACE from the SGC Gate Room MID SPEECH.  
That's when GOOD OL' THOR, that good old buddy old pal, tells you that HATHOR'S DEATH has instigated a bit of ANGER at Earth, even though it turns out that HATHOR WAS GOING TO BETRAY the other System Lords.  
  
Enough anger that several GOA'ULD SHIPS would be sent to destroy Earth and the destruction is ASSURED as the ASGUARD FLEET is busy with a problem in THEIR OWN GALAXY, unless...  
  
"Unless?" You asked.  
  
"Earth joins the membership of the Protected Planets Treaty," THOR says.  
  
"...And what's that?" You ask.  
  
"An armistice between the Asgard and the Goa'uld, ensuring that certain planets remain free from attack or destruction or oppression by the Goa'uld," Thor explains. "In return for their... ignoring of those worlds, the Asgard are not allowed to use our technology to to advance any races living on any one of the planets, even to prevent something like a natural disaster. Certain limits are also technically placed on the populations of these worlds to prevent them from being threats to the Goa'uld. Of course, the definition of 'threat' is defined by the High Council of System Lords."  
  
"So, uh... what good does it do us to join the treaty if the Goa'uld just figure we're going to break it anyways?" You ask.  
  
"Disputed Violations would require a Commission of Inquiry to assemble, containing in its membership an equal number of Asgard and Goa'uld. Violations on the Goa'uld's part would result in severe punishment," Thor explains. "Although, such a feat would be nearly impossible under current conditions."  
  
"Current Conditions?" You ask.  
  
"A local menace we had some moderate successes fighting back against recently... mutated, after gaining some technology we had never seen before," Thor elaborates. "While it was certainly a war before, it was one we could win, theoretically. Now? We are not quite sure if we can outlast this new form of our enemy."  
  
"...So it's a bluff," you say. "You guys are just bluffing the Goa'uld into not attacking Earth."  
  
"...Presently, yes."  
  
"So, how do we do this?" You ask.  
  
Thor goes on to explain that THREE SYSTEM LORDS will come to Earth to NEGOTIATE it's entrance into the TREATY, and tells you who will be coming to VISIT, and the RULES for the treaty to progress.  
  
It's with some SMUG sense of satisfaction that you return to Earth and relay that information to General Hammond.  


* * *

 

  
**"First is going to be Cronus or Kronos, depending on the part of the galaxy and who you ask,"** Jolinar says, leading the briefing. **"Cronus is the Goa'uld who banished Sokar from the System Lords, and according to Earth Mythology, he was one of Twelve of the Greek Titans, who ruled before being over thrown by the Olympians.** " She pauses, then says, **"He is also the one who sent the assassin after me on Nasya, and, we believe, may have been the one who compromised Cordesh's host with the spy who was leaking base locations. Basically, I should make myself scares during the treaty proceedings."**  
  
"Well, he sounds like fun," Strider says. "Anything else about him we should know?"  
  
**"With Khepri gone, and Apophis dead, Cronus is the present head of the System Lords Council,"** Jolinar continues. **"He will be a hardliner, and push for something major in exchange for Earth to join the Treaty. Possibly one of our Stargates, if not all of them."**  
  
"Great." Strider slumps in his chair.  
  
**"Next we have is Lord Yu,"** Jolinar continues.  
  
"Me?" You ask.  
  
"...No. Not 'Y. O. U.', Colonel. 'Y. U.'" Carter takes over from there. "Like the Chineese name."  
  
"I thought that was 'Y. U. U.'," you say.  
  
"That's an alternate spelling, but it's more common in Japanese," Carter shakes her head, then lets Jolinar resume talking.  
  
**"Anyways. YU. Lord Yu. Full name Yu-huang Shang Ti. He's one of the Oldest Goa'uld still alive, and seems to have taken up his Intergalactic persona based off of one of China's Greatest Emperors."** Jolinar says, **"From the intelligence we Tok'ra gathered over the last year, his current interests are all on the opposite side of the Galaxy, and maintaining the status quo as it is, except with Earth becoming a Protected Planet, would destabilize his enemies with little adverse affect on himself or his dealings."**  
  
"So... Yu is on our side?" You ask.  
  
**"More of a neutral party."** Jolinar says. **"The middle ground, so to speak. It works out better in his favor if not much else changes."** She pauses, glancing at KA'TURNAL, who you'd asked to be here, and says, **"Which brings us to the last System Lord joining the treaty. Lady Nirrti."**  
  
"...What," Ka'turnal flatly remarks. "But that's not-" she shakes her head. "I was not aware she'd made any kind of return to the public scene."  
  
**"I was confused as well when we heard of this, so I reached out to the rest of the Tok'ra and inquired,"** Jolinar says. **"It seems that around the time we were dealing with the Reetou Rebels, Nirrti reached out to the System Lords and explained that Apophis had stolen her technology and gravely wounded her host, forcing her to jump into the body of her First Prime, Jayni."**  
  
"The Cat Girl from Abydos that Jackson ran into?" Ferretti asks.  
  
"That would be Her, yes," Ka'turnal scowls as she says this, seeming off put.  
  
**"From what we know from Ka'turnal of Nirrti's plans,"** Jolinar continues, **"she's likely to be the one most on our side, given her and Khepri's shared interests in keeping Earth unharmed. However, since her return to the Intergalactic Stage, it's been noted that her motives and whims have been... very fluid and seem to change at a moments notice. However, not once yet so far has one of her odd antics not panned out in her favor somehow."**  
  
"Strange," Ka'turnal frowns. "We never had that good of luck with betting our fortunes before."  
  
You eye her for a moment, wondering what she means by that.  
  
**"From what we can figure, she'll most likely attempt to arrange events so that Earth comes out ahead in the deal, somehow."** Jolinar continues. **"Stranger than her luck, the Tok'ra spies among her ranks have heard rumor that she's planning on petitioning for several other worlds to be added to the Treaty as well."**  
  
"...That is strange." Ka'turnal scowls. "Very. Very Strange." She stands up, "I need to think on this for a few minutes." And with that, she leaves for the Control Room stairs.  
  
"You do that," You say, smiling faintly as you wave her off.  
  
"Now, we need to go over the ground rules Thor gave us," Carter says. "First and foremost is that all weapons are to be either locked away or removed from the Base for the duration of the Treaty Proceedings. The Goa'uld are coming unarmed, and as a show of good faith, we need to be unarmed as well."  
  
"I don't like this part," Hammond says, "but if it will keep Earth safe from another attack? I'm for it."  
  
"Now... as for the ambassador proceedings, Thor's chosen Colonel O'neill to represent Earth, and-"  
  
And you tune Carter out. You heard all of this stuff from THOR to begin with and you MEMORIZED IT PRETTY WELL then. Instead, you mull over KA'TURNAL'S REACTIONS to this announcement of NIRRTI'S RETURN APPEARANCE.  
  
She's definitely surprised- and if you're reading your GOA'ULD facial language right, down right PISSED OFF at being betrayed.  
  
By the time she returns, Carter's done with the ground rules, and Hammond calls the meeting adjourned.  
  
"General Hammond, Colonel O'neill," Ka'turnal says. "May I speak with you two privately for a moment?"  
  
"Sure thing," You say, giving Hammond a look of 'this is going to be good.'  
  
Hammond shakes his head at your expression, then says, "Of course, Nurse."  
  
You two enter Hammond's office and close the window blinds and doors to ensure privacy.  
  
"The Lady Nirrti that's going to be coming here is almost certainly-" she begins, but you cut her off with a smile and a question.  
  
"Not You?"  
  
"I- uh. What?" She asks, staring at you.  
  
"Run that by me again, Colonel?" Hammond asks, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"It's kinda obvious," you say, crossing your arms. "'Specially in retrospect. Ka'turnal's really Nirrti. Which means the Nirrti coming to this treaty-"  
  
"Is purely Jayni, my First Prime, with her 'cover story' of my taking her as a host," Ka'turnal- Nirrti, really, but you're going to keep the internal tag the same in your head so you don't screw things up in public- says, hanging her head for a moment. "I'm... mostly sorry for the Deception, but I truly had no idea how you would treat me if I'd admitted who I was at the time."  
  
Hammond keeps his facial expressions neutral, "I had my own suspicions, to be honest, but I appreciate the honesty."  
  
"I'd assume anyone with some smarts would have figured it out by now anyways," You say. "How long would you have kept it up for if this hadn't happened, anyways?"  
  
"Truthfully? Probably never," Ka'turnal laughs, bitterly. "I've somewhat grown fond of working here, and also, I've come to some sobering realizations about what fate I would inevitably suffer if I kept on as I had been."  
  
"Out of curiosity, what 'sobering realizations' are we talking about here?" You press, and she gives you a look that's hard to interpret.  
  
"Splattered across the floor like a Reetou against a Transphase Eradication Rod," she remarks.  
  
"Ah." You say, understanding. "So..." You chance subjects. "You got your Identity stolen by your First Prime?"  
  
"Apparently so," she shakes her head. "Damn it all, I knew something was up when we heard that Base was given to Setesh. But to pretend to be ME? That takes guts."  
  
"Speaking of that base..." Hammond begins.  
  
"Yes, yes, I kept it a secret." The Goa'uld in front of you rolls her eyes. "It was going to be my hideaway in case something went wrong here at the SGC and I was forced to flee. Jayni was sent to work there regarding the, ah... Oh Blast it all I have to tell you about that Project too."  
  
"Nepeta, right?" You ask.  
  
"Yes and no. You've probably surmised by now that Nepeta's a glaring distraction- obvious modifications to such a ludicrous degree that you wouldn't expect them to be stable, and yet..." She laughs- sounding impressed. "Jayni outdid herself with her work on that one, and I'm guessing the same holds true for the other, future distractions. But that's not important right now, and I'll tell you more later when the situation's settled down."  
  
"That's fair enough," Hammond agrees. "This fake Nirrti could upset the entire Treaty."  
  
"Yeah," you also agree. "What's up with her?"  
  
"It's hard to say, but her selling that Backup Base to Setesh- who first of all I must say that I didn't even know he was still alive up until recently- and then turning the location over to the Tok'ra? That's a bold, calculated move, that if it didn't result in his Death the way that it did, he would almost certainly turn right back around and track 'Nirrti' down for selling him out like that." Ka'turnal shakes her head, mulling it over for a few moments, "It's a risky endeavor, and it's just more in part of this pattern the Tok'ra have observed. I'll have to find out more about what she's been doing in an attempt to figure out her wider spanning plans. Needless to say, her betrayal of Setesh and the Base was likely meant to tell me that I'm stuck where I am."  
  
"The phrase 'you made your bed, now lie in it' comes to mind," you say.  
  
"Precisely," the woman agrees. "This bold move of joining the Protected Planets Treaty... she has to know I'll be warning you about her, or at the very least, consider it a heavy possibility."  
  
"Call her Bluff and risk your own protected status," Hammond reasons, "Or let her possibly run her schemes without interference and possibly get killed in the backlash."  
  
"Yes," she nods. "I'm taking the risk that what she has planned is worse off for me than letting my real identity be known. Possibly, she might plan on murdering me, or one of the other delegates, to ensure things go her way and framing it on someone."  
  
"That'd require sneaking a weapon through the Gate, though," you say.  
  
"Yes, but it'd be possible if the weapon were an organic material and not a metal," Ka'turnal rationalizes. "Or... if the weapon were on someone who was invisible."  
  
Ah. That was why she'd talked about going SPLAT from a T.E.R.  
  
"Sneak an extra person through the gate, hide a weapon on them," you nod. "Yeah, that'd be a clever idea. AND we can't counter it because if we're locking our weapons away, the only thing we have that can make people visible would be locked up too."  
  
"Precisely," Ka'turnal nods. "She HAS to know we have the technology here for it, which means we need some other way to find them."  
  
The idea hits you like A BRICK because you've SEEN A WAY AROUND THIS.  
  
"...Thermal," You say. "We rig up a thermal camera in front of the Gate and we watch for extra heat signatures like we did on Amaunet's ship to see those Mofang creatures."  
  
"It's a start," Hammond says. "And I think I'm going to want one of those made permanent going forwards, too."  
  
"If we survive whatever my traitorous First Prime has planned, that is," Ka'turnal says and then stops. "Oh. Hah. Funny. I just had an idea of what I might have tried if I were trying to sabotage events."  
  
"Oh?" You ask, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"  
  
"I'd try to kill Cronus and pin it on Teal'c," she answers. "His father DID used to be Cronus' First Prime once upon a time, and it was his father's failure and subsequent execution that sent Teal'c running to Apophis to become HIS First Prime, which, well, we all know how THAT turned out." She pauses, then says, "Oh, um. Don't tell him I told you that I know that."  
  
"No promises," you say.  
  
"Fair enough," she accepts.  
  
"Now, that's a possibility assuming she's working against us," Hammond says. "Let's venture a guess for a moment and assume that she IS trying to help us somehow. Possibly for her own plans- she wouldn't betray Seth's location if she didn't expect the SGC to continue for much long after, would she?"  
  
"Good point," Ka'turnal frowns. "If she IS trying to help us out somehow... I can't figure out what her goal would be, unless..." She snaps her fingers. "Unless she's trying to stop someone else from sabotaging the treaty."  
  
"This only happened because Daniel killed Hathor," You realize. "And the fact that the blame is falling on US and not on the Ghost Goa'uld in his head-"  
  
"They might be trying to sabotage us in vengeance for Jackson murdering Hathor," Ka'turnal finishes your thought and wow that's somewhat creepy. "But then again, this might just be more of some long term Con on Jayni's part. I wasn't there when she did the procedure for Project Atum at Khepri's request. Whatever she WANTED done might not have even BEEN done."  
  
"Y'know," you say, "that HAS been bugging me. Why the hell would Atum back stab Apophis as soon as he exited the Gate? Why the hell leak the information about Apophis' plans for a super baby to the other Goa'uld, but only do it AFTER telling US and giving US a head start on the problem? More importantly... why side with Hathor of all people?"  
  
"Are you suggesting that this Atum thing inside Dr. Jackson is working for your former First Prime?" Hammond asks.  
  
"It... it'd certainly fit with the theme of duplicitous actions," Ka'turnal frowns. "The only question I have regarding it's validity or not is for how long she's been planning such a coup for?" She pauses... "Oh. Fuck."  
  
"What?" You ask.  
  
"Remember how I said I'd tell you later about the Project Nepeta was meant as a distraction for?" She laughs- a nervous laugh that doesn't bode well for you or anyone else- "I think it's _Later_ now."  


* * *

  
Your name is NIRRTI- well... KA'TURNAL if you don't somehow manage to REGAIN your NAME after today- and you are PANICKING SOMETHING FIERCE.  
  
"Project Heir was something Khepri had planned in-case she died," you explain. "A backup Super Host type body that her memories could be transplanted into. The plan was, we hide that Clone somewhere on Earth among a multitude of other Super Host clones, essentially lost among the shuffle. During our last communication, Jayni had told me she'd successfully hidden the Heir with the Host Family, but... I suddenly had a premonition that she was lying to me."  
  
"So she kept the kid for herself?" O'neill asks.  
  
"Yes and No. Jayni may have given them a CHILD, if only to trick me when I inevitably checked in, but the powers that child is meant to have aren't going to show up properly until they turn thirteen or fourteen, and not to maturity until they turn Sixteen. Jayni was the one to suggest the idea that we use one of my hidden gene delays on the child so they wouldn't be detected until the host was ready." You swallow, throat feeling dry, and isn't that a peculiar sensation for a Former Goa'uld System Lord to feel? "The irony is, I wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at them NOW if they had powers or not. I'd have to wait until the time was right to realize something was wrong."  
  
"So it's possible that your First Prime has been planning to take this child as her own, and rigged events to lead to her getting it," Hammond guesses. "Why would she want that?"  
  
"Any number of reasons," you say, and honestly they're too many to count. "But most likely? The same reason Apophis wanted a Harcesis and stole my technolo- DAMN IT ALL!" you swear as another thought comes to you. "That's how he knew! She sold out my base on Hanka, didn't she!?"  
  
Suddenly, pieces begin clicking into place. That backstabbing little CHILD! To do something like this...!  
  
But even then, you have no idea how much of it is intended or how much of it is just you connecting COINCIDENCES together.  
  
"Any other startling revelations you want to talk about?" O'neill asks, smirking. Damn it all, he's enjoying this.  
  
"No," you answer. "At least, nothing that leaps to mind right now. Truth be told, I don't want to even imagine what she has planned for the Heir, but I'm going to have to think on it a lot, now."  
  
This has become such a headache.

* * *

  
  
You watch from the control room as JAYNI steps through the Stargate alongside CRONUS and YU wearing- Oh! That Little UPSTART! Those are YOUR FORMAL ROBES!! And they've clearly have been RE-TAILORED too, to allow for her TAIL primarily!  
  
They're not alone, either. Their PERSONAL ATTENDANTS are at their sides, and you're staring wondering who the HELL this boy is that Jayni's hired on as her attendant? He doesn't look like any of yours.  
  
You'd say he looks like a clone of someone FAMILIAR, but you're not sure who of, and how old they'd be if they were recently cloned.  
  
You glance at the Thermal and- as expected- there are EXTRANEOUS HEAT SIGNATURES. Three of them, to be exact, shadowing the SERVANTS. At least they're HUMANOID in shape.  
  
While General Hammond gives the WELCOME TO EARTH speech, you take a breath, and look to O'neill. You shake your head 'no.' Meaning, in this case, you don't have a chance to intervene right here and now.  
  
O'neill tabs the radio in his hand, and talks directly to Hammond through the ear piece in his ear. "We've got three extra party guests, Sir. Recommendation we mention the thermal cameras at the guest rooms only."  
  
"Right," Hammond says, fluently slipping it onto the end of his last statement, and beginning his pitch for the GUEST ROOMS. "Now, we understand that you'll likely want some alone time between treaty sessions, so we've arranged three guest rooms for you and your servants. As a security precaution, we've taken the liberty to put thermal and regular imaging cameras outside each one. If the thermals recognize any extraneous heat sources outside of what the visuals recognize, the doors will lock down to prevent any incidents. We've also installed televisions inside each room so you can view who's outside for yourself."  
  
**"How forward thinking,"** Jayni smirks, voice sounding like she legitimately has a Symbiote in her, which you can TELL SHE DOESN'T. She glances up at you through the Control Room window. **"I can see you've had some experiences with cloaked assassins before. Have you considered installing any at the Gate?"**  
  
Cronus merely grunts at that, and Yu smiles faintly.  
  
"We did," Hammond half lies, "but on such short notice we didn't manage to design a proper suite for the Gate room just yet. It's on our to-do list."  
  
**"I doubt such precautions will be necessary going forwards,"** Cronus remarks.  
  
**"I think I might adopt such a policy myself for my own personal Gate Room."** Yu remarks, smiling kindly, but firmly. **"Please, show us to our guest rooms?"**  
  
"Right this way," Hammond says, and leads them on.  
  
You glance at the THERMAL FEED from the camera placed beneath the Stargate Ramp, and you observe that the EXTRA HEAT SIGNATURES HANG BACK somewhat before following.  
  
Ah, so they CAN take a hint. Likely re-evaluating their mission orders.  
  
Alas, by doing so they've made a blatant, stupid, idiotic mistake.  
  
O'neill takes out a SMALL ASGARD COMMUNICATION STONE, and says, "Now, Thor."  
  
You HEAR, less than SEE, the **PVVVOOOOOOMMMM _SHING!_ ** of the Asgard teleportaion technology, but regardless, the EXTRANEOUS HEAT SIGNATURES disappear from the Ramp, and nobody from the Goa'uld Negotiation Party are the wiser.  
  
You think.

* * *

 

  
You're NIRRTI, damn it, but you're having to play the part of the RANDOM BACKGROUND ASSISTANT OSTENSIBLY THERE TO TAKE NOTES. Carter and Hammond sit at the table with you.  
  
Jayni smirks at you in a way that the other Goa'uld likely think is meant to be DEMEANING of a SERVANT, but you know what she really means by it.  
She KNOWS you're playing a SERVANT'S ROLE just so you can be part of these proceedings, and she's ENJOYING IT.  
  
"And so begins the Treaty Proceedings for the addition of the Planet 'Earth' to the Protected Planets Treaty," Thor speaks. "As is customary, grievances are to be addressed at the beginning before true negotiation can begin."  
  
**"I will go first,"** Cronus speaks. **"I have my reservations about allowing the Tau'ri to join this treaty given their track record for... devastation where-ever they go."** He scowls. **"Ra, Apophis, Klorel, and Hathor are dead because of them. Amaunet is in the wind, and the minor Goa'uld are in disarray attempting to fill the power void. Not to mention the horror that is Sokar attempting to make his way back into the Galaxy's good graces."**  
  
Colonel O'neill raises his hand, "May I?"  
  
Cronus grunts, but allows it. **"I'd like to hear your excuse, sure."**  
  
"Alright so... I guess in order of appearance," O'neill says. "Ra. Ra was self defense."  
  
**"Self Defense?"** Cronus scoffs. **"As if."**  
  
**"It's true though,"** JAYNI- as NIRRTI- says, eyeing you. " **I spoke with Ra that very day. She was irrationally determined to blow up their planet for the simple reason that they had uncovered their Stargate. I tried to talk her out of it, but she refused to listen to reason."**  
  
You're honestly surprised by her little tirade just now, and so is Cronus.  
  
**"Tell us then, Colonel,"** Yu speaks, **"in your own words. How did Ra's death come about?"**  
  
"Well, we arrived on the first world we ever successfully dialed that had people on it," O'neill says. "We didn't know the return address, so we tried to talk with the locals to see if they knew it. Ra showed up shortly after that and sent Death Gliders, attacked the nearest settlement, and killed a good half of my expedition team without warning before capturing the rest." He pauses, then says, "We didn't know it at the time, but our commanding officer here on Earth at the time was compromised with one of Ra's servants. He sneaked a bomb in with our supplies, and Ra seemed to want to use it as justification to blow up our planet. A shipment of Naquadah was going to go along with it, and I think you all know how badly that would have gone."  
  
**"Is this true?"** Yu looks to Jayni.  
  
**"Indeed it is,"** Jayni says, laughing in disgust. **"Ra practically was bragging about it. She didn't even password secure her own plans. Anyone could have found it even with a barely passing understanding of Goa'uld."**  
  
Cronus shifted uncomfortably, **"I see."**  
  
**"Continue, Colonel,"** Yu says.  
  
"Well, she took one of our people- and this is important for later- and put some kind of mental compulsion thing in his head, told him to execute the rest of his own team," O'neill explains. "Fortunately, the locals had had enough of Ra's erratic behavior too, and decided enough was enough. We escaped death, formulated a plan, and then we sent Ra's bomb right back to her ship. Self defense."  
  
**"I find their logic sound,"** Yu says. **"Any one of us would have done the same had Ra suddenly decided to send a bomb to our home worlds."**  
  
**"...Fine,"** Cronus grunts. **"But Apophis-"**  
  
"Apophis Started it," O'neill interrupts.  
  
Cronus glares at him, **"Insolent little..."**  
  
**"Did he now?"** Yu asks, sounding curious. **"Explain."**  
  
"Apophis captured a lot of people by sending kidnapping teams to a couple of planets we knew at the time," O'neill explains. "One of the people he ended up kidnapping was that teammate of ours who Ra had put that mental compulsion thing on. We went to Chulak to try to negotiate the release of our people, and Apophis's wife decided to lock us up for no good reason. A couple of hours later, Apophis just flat out tried to kill us all for no reason, too."  
  
**"I'm starting to notice a theme here,"** Cronus mutters.  
  
"And while we managed to escape death," O'neill continues, ignoring that, "we didn't manage to rescue our friend who was captured, and blended with the Goa'uld we were told was named Klorel."  
  
**"Ah, and that's when the mental compulsion Ra had installed triggered, wasn't it?"** Jayni speaks, and damn it, you REALLY WISH you were on her side of the table. **"It was meant for Symbiotes, not Hosts, I'll wager."**  
  
"Yeah," O'neill says. "Something calling itself Atum took over Klorel and our friend, and has been running rampant the entire time. We only found out about him around the same time you all found out about Apophis and Amaunet making Super Babies, because he told us and made it VERY clear that he was going to tell the Goa'uld too. We also saw him with Hathor before she died." O'neill pauses, then says. "HE was the one who back stabbed her, not us."  
  
**"Do you honestly expect us to believe that?"** Cronus asks.  
  
**"I do,"** Jayni says, having the audacity to look ashamed. **"It sounds suspiciously similar to a project I'd attempted and failed to pull off under Ra's orders. It seems she succeeded where I failed."**  
  
Liar! LIAR! You want to yell in her face, but restrain yourself.  
  
**"I also believe it to be the case,"** Yu says. **"It fits with my own intelligence on the matter. A Goa'uld calling himself Atum was indeed the one who shared that information with me regarding Apophis' breach of the rules."**  
  
"Which brings us right back to Apophis," O'neill says. "Whatever damages we did to the rest of you while fighting him was because Apophis started it. Literally. One of your scientists, Nirrti," he eyes Jayni, pointedly, daring her and calling her out, "told us that he was likely after the lab on the planet that he utterly wiped out with a bio-plague. He then used that planet as a staging ground to launch an Attack on Earth with two ships we had to destroy in Self Defense. And Apophis and Amaunet weren't on either one of them. We thought Amaunet was, but that just turned out to be a decoy cloned to fool us. She didn't know anything about Apophis' real plans or schemes. Didn't even Have a Symbiote in her head."  
  
Jayni laughs nervously as Cronus eyes her and remarks, **"Well, I see that your story checks out, Nirrti."** He doesn't sound like he believes it.  
  
**"It's true,"** Jayni says. **"Apophis did start a lot of trouble for us, independently of Earth's meddling, it seems."**  
  
"Are there any more grievances on the System Lord's part?" Thor asks.  
  
**"No,"** Yu says. **"I have no complaints."**  
  
**"I do not have any either,"** Jayni says.  
  
"Earth's Representative, any grievances to address?" Thor asks, looking to O'neill.  
  
O'neill looks to Hammond, who shakes his head. "Nope," O'neill decides. "We have no grievances against Yu, or Cronus, or Nirrti." You smile on the inside as he stresses Nirrti, while glancing at Jayni pointedly again. "Most of our problems are with Atum right now, since he's still using the body of our friend like a puppet."  
  
**"As is Understandable,"** Yu says.  
  
"We will then proceed with the Negotiation proper," Thor says. "The Asgard and the people of Earth petition for Earth's entry into the Protected Planets Treaty. What are the opening conditions for the entry to be accepted from each System Lord Representative?"  
  
**"Earth has too many Stargates,"** Cronus grunts. **"My condition is that they surrender all of their alternate Stargates."**  
  
**"I counter that condition,"** Yu says, glancing towards Cronus, **"I myself hold many backup Stargates in Reserve should an unfortunate incident happen. I know you do as well, Cronus. Accidents do happen, and I see no need for them to walk such a fine tightrope in case of an accident. However, in fair trade for the Tau'ri to join the Treaty, I request the Asgard allow us usage of the Passage of Nilor."**  
  
**"I think Earth could become a valuable ally in years going forwards,"** Jayni speaks, much to Cronus' angry glare. **"It's clear that they have a unique way of solving problems- problems that we System Lords have as well, and have no clear means of solving. Fresh Perspectives are required in my line of work, after all." She smirks. "And after all, it seems that we do have Goa'uld among our own ranks who think they can get away with doing whatever they wish without consequences. Apophis. Hathor. Even Ra. I condition that Earth is exempt from _Law Section 326_ under the provision that, if any of we System Lords uncover a fellow Goa'uld who thinks they can flaunt the rules, and we need a Plausibly Deniable way of removing them from power, we can request that Earth... simply 'explore' their way through the situation."**  
  
There is silence for a few moments, then Yu starts LAUGHING.  
  
"Are you INSANE!?" Cronus ask-yells. "It would be a sign of weakness to-!"  
  
_**"Anubis,"** _ Jayni silences him with a name. **"Sokar. Atum."** She continues, locking eyes with Cronus. **"And Amaunet, who need I remind you is still at large, as well."**  
  
**"What of them?"** Cronus asks, glaring at her.  
  
**"These are problems we System Lords have faced for countless centuries,"** Jayni says, playing the part of the coy manipulator who makes no attempt to hide her manipulations. **"Anubis?"** She raises one finger on her hand. **"You know why we cannot do more than keep him from re-entering Galactic affairs. I'm sure the Tau'ri could find a way to extinguish his lofty aspirations. Sokar?"** She raises a second finger. **"He grows bold, trying to return to our graces by hunting down Apophis. This Atum,"** A third finger raises, **"a creation of Ra's own insanity, seems fit to back stab every Goa'uld he comes across, and the Tau'ri would very much like to get out of their friends head."** Then, she raises a fourth finger, **"And let us not mention that Amaunet and her heretical child, created using MY STOLEN TECHNOLOGY, have somehow managed to avoid Heru'ur's scouts entirely. She's certainly looking out for the standard Goa'uld hunting parties. The Tau'ri, though? She might not be so paranoid about their exploration of the Galaxy."**  
  
For several moments, nobody says anything, and DAMN IT ALL, your First Prime IS BOLD as hell to go off like that. (Also, DAMN, did she manage to get your INDIGNATION at having your technology stolen down pat. How long has she been practicing this??) And she looks so SMUG, too, reaching a hand out to grab at a CUP OF WATER and take a large, pointed, drawn out sip from it.  
  
Even THOR- the little Asgard- seems stunned by that long rant.  
  
**"...I will consider your points, Nirrti,"** Cronus finally grunts out, **"and I request a recess to do such."**  
  
"A... Recess will be granted," Thor says, seemingly taken back. "I will contact the rest of the Asgard to see if they are willing to trade access to the Passage of Nilor."  
  
**"May I have a tour of the base?"** Jayni asks, falsely sweet as she glances at you. **"I'm very interested to see this place in person. Also, you mentioned one of my Scientists. I'd also like to ask them if they are happy with their time here."**  
  
**"I, too, would not mind a Tour,"** Yu says.  
  
"I'm sure we can arrange that," Hammond says, speaking up for the first time the entire meeting. "Carter, why don't you handle that while I notify my superiors about the initial conditions of the treaty."  
  
Personally, all you can think is... 'Oh. This could go either very good, or very bad.'  


* * *

  
Colonel O'neill and Major Carter's tour, of course, is completely superficial in that the facility itself is barely talked about. Instead, LORD YU leads the conversation, mostly about events he had heard about and wished for some clarification about. His questions were merely simple things regarding Earth's encounters with Apophis that he wished clarification on- and all of it stuff that seems to firmly settle in the Goa'uld's mind that Apophis was just a rotten egg to begin with.  
  
Jayni however, seemed content to observe and make wry, cute little observations.  
  
Her ASSISTANT, however, continues to baffle you. The closer you've gotten to him, the more obvious it is that he IS a clone of someone, but Jayni's scattered his facial structure somewhat to make it impossible to tell. Except for his EYES. They're GREEN- a vibrant, deep green that is the key source of your STRANGE SENSE OF FAMILIARITY.  
  
You'd almost dare say he might be a clone of JAKE HARLEY, but he looks TOO STABLE for that. Unless Jayni was secretly cloning the man from the day she was born, this can't be a clone of Jake. It just can't be possible.  
  
Finally, though, Jayni asks a question in similar tone to one of Yu's questions.  
  
**"You mentioned earlier that one of my scientists from Hanka survived Apophis' attack, were there any other natives who survived?"** She smiles in a way that implies she's sincere in her concern. **"I do hope they haven't suffered much. I was rather fond of those people."**  
  
"A few survived," Carter says. "They've decided to settle far away from the SGC, though."  
  
**"Ah, a shame,"** Jayni sighs. **"I'd have liked to apologized to them for putting their lives on the line like that."**  
  
"I'll make sure the message gets to them," O'neill says, glancing at you in a way that clearly asks 'What the hell is her game here?'  
  
And you have no idea what it could be.

Your only hint so far is her attempt to make Earth EXEMPT from Treaty Law 326- which sates that No Human Planet would be allowed to advance to where they may become a threat to the Goa'uld, which also implies that SUBSECTION 42 might be voided as well- regarding the Asgard advancing Humanity or interfering with their own natural progression.  
  
It makes no sense why she's doing this- other than that she wants to make use of Earth as a pointed "Go make this Problem Go Away" weapon.  
  
Which, honestly, that...  
  
YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT.  
  
It's an insane prospect and an equally insane proposal. Cronus surely isn't going to go for it at all, and yet...  
  
**"As an aside,"** Yu suddenly speaks up. **"I believe I heard an Asgard transport beam shortly after we left the Gate Room. I would assume such a sound would accompany some unfortunate assassins meeting an untimely imprisonment, if that were the case and such a sound did occur. But perhaps my ears were playing tricks on me, as they have been known to do lately."** He and O'neill lock eyes for a few moments, and the System Lord smiles in a way that says 'I know what game you played on arrival, and I will play along.' **"All that I ask is that, if it were not my ears playing tricks on me, that I would receive the names of those who dared to send Assassins after a peaceful treaty negotiation."**  
  
"If that were the case," O'neill says, smiling warily in turn. "I'm sure we'd have that information ready for you before you leave. Probably hidden away in something like a Fruit Basket. But we'd be giving you one of those anyways, cause who doesn't love a good fruit basket?"  
  
**"Yes, who doesn't?"** Yu agrees, and thus the tour continues on.  
  
Though, Jayni falls behind Yu a little, just out of his line of sight, and wriggles her eyebrows at you suggestively. Oh that little UPSTART! What game is she even playing here? Was she behind those Assassins?? Did she KNOW they were there and said nothing??? What the hell????  
  
You... You are getting MIGHTILY FRUSTRATED by this cloak and dagger.  


* * *

  
As Cronus seems to still be sulking in his room, and Yu has retired to his own room for a short rest before the meeting resumes, Jayni and you finally get your ONE TO ONE talk in "Nirrti's Suite."  
  
That is to say, the guest room assigned to Nirrti, but is being occupied by Jayni.  
  
Colonel O'neill has accompanied you as well to ensure NO FUNNY BUSINESS happens.  
  
"Jayni," you say, crossing your arms. "Just what game are you playing here?"  
  
**"Oh, Ka'turnal! How good to see you again!"** Jayni smiles- not once dropping the act even for a moment. **"No Games! Nothing of the sort!"**  
  
"Drop the voice modulation," you say. "The Colonel and I are both well aware of the fact that you are not who you say you are."  
  
"Fine," she scowls at you, and then drops the voice modulation. "So you decided to spill the beans, hm? Do you really trust each other THAT much to not back stab the other at the first moment of opportunity?"  
  
"For now," O'neill says, "the phrase 'enemy of my enemy' kind of applies. That's a phrase you seem fond of, actually, suggesting what you did back in the conference room."  
  
"Oh, yes, yes," Jayni chuckles. "I am indeed a fan of that phrase. I see many useful uses you all have for the Galaxy at wide. I'd be a fool not to place Nirrti's bets publicly on them..." She looks to you and rolls her eyes. "Especially since she's privately placed them for oh so long as it is."  
  
"Why?" You ask. "Why pretend to be ME? How long have you been planning this!?"  
  
"Why not?" She asks in return. "You weren't using the name, or the power, or the fame all that much. Not even when Ra was in power. You were always more entertained by the science and the projects than you were ruling as a System Lord."  
  
"How. Long. Jayni??" You stress, and she scowls.  
  
"I'd answer the woman," O'neill says. "Otherwise we end this charade for the others."  
  
"You won't, actually. It's in your best interests if you let this play out as it is. But fine, I'll answer your question, Nirrti," Jayni says. "I've been planning this for long enough and that you can't stop me now. I have gears in motion, Irons in the Fire, and so many plans ready to execute, already being executed, and already executed to perfection. You made a mistake training me to use your machinery, as an apprentice than a First Prime." She pulses her eyes, and briefly adopts the voice modulation again. **"You trained me to be _Nirrti- your REPLACEMENT._ So I took the job while you go play scientist. Khepri already proved a non Goa'uld can play the part of a System Lord well enough."**  
  
Damn it all. You just... don't like the sound of this.  
  
"Did you send those Assassins?" You ask. "Was this all some kind of ploy designed to make Cronus and Yu agree to your terms?"  
  
"No, they're not mine, and I have no idea who sent them either," Jayni smirks. "However, I was aware they were there- the cat ears, you see- and that you all would find a way to stop them. I placed my bets well."  
  
"Bets," You scoff. "You're risking everything on bets!? Sheer luck! One day it's going to RUN OUT, Jayni."  
  
"But it won't," she says, utterly confident. "Because, you see, Luck is just an illusion. Just another form of genetic coding to be cracked and manipulated as I see fit. I make my own LUCK, Nirrti, something you and Khepri were too AFRAID to ever attempt."  
  
"...Did you set Atum up to do what it is he's doing?" O'neill asks. "Did you do something to Daniel that Khepri didn't know about?"  
  
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I'm not saying." And then Jayni turns around, back facing you and Colonel O'neill, and adopts her modulated voice again. **"Very well, Ka'turnal. I suppose I have your answer then. You wish to stay here on Earth, hm? I hope you enjoy your time here. May it ever be free of knives in your back."**  
  
Then, she looks over her shoulder, flashing her eyes at you and the Colonel.  
  
**"Now... _LEAVE."_**  
  
So you do, and you're not quite sure what to make of this turn of events.  


* * *

  
Your name is COLONEL O'NEILL, and DAMN if that wasn't scary as hell.  
  
"I can't believe I've just been EXILED by my own damned First Prime," Nirrti/Ka'turnal swears once you and she reach the safety of Hammond's office. "Of all the...! I hope she chokes on her aspirations and gets a blade through her back for all this trouble she's causing!"  
  
"So..." Hammond begins, "I guess it didn't go well?"  
  
"No, Sir," you shake your head. "I'm not even sure how to process any of this, honestly. Jayni sounds like she's gone full fledged Goa'uld without having the snake in her head."  
  
"Well, we know from experience that doesn't mean much," Hammond sighs. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  
  
"That's the sad fact of the universe, General," Ka'turnal/Nirrti says, frowning. "People who are frustrated over their Leaders often try to act better, but sometimes just act exactly the same."  
  
"Imitation is the Sincerest form of Flattery, and all that," you chime in. "Speaking of leadership, though. What did the people in suits upstairs have to say?"  
  
"They're split, generally down party lines for the most part, with a few exceptions here and there," Hammond says. "Half want earth to hand over all of our Stargates, believe it or not, and just want us to keep our necks out of intergalactic business for the rest of time."  
  
"Cowards," you clench your fists reflexively.  
  
"The other half basically want what Jayni's proposed," Hammond continues. "We keep doing as we're doing, and work to take out the outliers where we can. Keep our heads down and deal with things as they come up."  
  
"Of course they do," you say. "And the rest?"  
  
"The extremists and outliers on both sides generally are positioned as either 'Screw the Treaty, we don't need it' and 'Work with the Goa'uld for now until we can back stab them all.'" Hammond shakes his head. "That's with some more polite phrasing, as an aside."  
  
"And the President?" You ask.  
  
"Take a guess," Hammond grimaces, and you sigh.  
  
"Yeah, that about tracks," you shake your head. "But we're not agreeing to anything yet, right?"  
  
"No, thankfully," Hammond says.  
  
"Good," Ka'turnal says. "Maybe we can have some wriggle room, then."  


* * *

  
"The people of Earth will now present the deal they, and we of the Asgard, feel best works for everyone, and we will discuss which of the four proposals will work best in the long run," Thor says.  
  
"So..." You begin. "Basically, we've thought long and hard on this, and we've come up with our own proposal. We like what Yu and Nirrti have proposed, with one condition of our own."  
  
**"Of course,"** Yu says with a nod.  
  
Cronus grunts out a bitter **"Proceed."**  
  
"So, first of all, the Asgard are willing to accept Yu's proposal, and trade access of the Passage of Nilor to the System Lords," you begin, and you see Yu's eyes TWINKLE in the normal mundane human way rather than anything to do with the fancy eye trick. "And we of Earth are willing to accept Nirrti's proposal of a Truce against Mutual Enemies such as Amaunet and Atum, as an example; however, our condition is that this Truce only applies during times of direct conflict regarding those Mutual Enemies. If an Earth Team and a Goa'uld force otherwise come across each other in hostile ways while on any non-homeworld planet, we're respectively Fair Game for the duration of that encounter."  
  
Jayni smiles. **"I believe that works out best for all parties, does it not? I accept this proposal."**  
  
**"Yes,"** Yu agrees. **"I think that would work as well. I accept as well."**  
  
Cronus scowls. **"I am... reluctant to admit that this does benefit the Goa'uld System Lords greatly, more so than I would have thought going into this."** He raps his fingers on the table, and says, **"I too, will accept this proposal, under one additional condition."**  
  
"Which would be...?" Thor asks.  
  
**"..."** Cronus pauses, waiting for a moment as if expecting something to happen, and when it doesn't, says, **"That a neutral world under each party's territory be selected for conferencing regarding this proposed 'Mutual Enemy Truce.' A world that no, Goa'uld, Asgard, or Tau'ri shall ever touch, or lay claim to otherwise."**  
  
You resist the urge to roll your eyes. Chances are this guy would slip in an address to a BLACK HOLE PLANET or something if he could get away with it.  
  
**"I see no problem with this,"** Yu says. **"I have a list of uninhabited planets we could use to select such a meeting ground."**  
  
**"I too have no problem,"** Jayni smirks at him. **"I'm glad you thought of it, Cronus."**  
  
"The Asgard agree to this condition," Thor says.  
  
You look to Hammond, who gives a nod.  
  
"We of Earth agree to this condition," you agree.  
  
And thus, the fancy intergalactic PEACE TREATY PAPERWORK is filled out.  
  
And today can FINALLY come to an end.  


* * *

  
"Here," You offer YU'S SERVANT a small box first. "A fruit basket for the road, along with a couple seed packets for each fruit if you like them enough to want more."  
Ka'turnal hands Jayni's servant a fruit box, and Hammond hands one to Cronus's servant.  
  
Cronus scowls at it, but says nothing otherwise.  
  
Yu just nods and gives a subtle bow of acceptance. **"Thank you. I am quite sure my people will enjoy the fruits of this basket much as we will all enjoy the fruits of this Updated Treaty."**  
  
**"I appreciate the seeds,"** Jayni says, winking at Ka'turnal. **"I'm going to make a super fruit that has all the best tastes of my favorites from this box. I'll send some along with an envoy once I've gotten them to where I like them."**  
  
"I'm sure it'll throw some people for a loop," you joke.  
  
**"Oh, it most definitely will,"** Jayni chuckles, and with that, the three GOA'ULD SYSTEM LORDS turn to the Active Stargate and head through the wormhole.  
  
A moment later, it shuts down, and you sigh in MILD RELIEF.  
  
"So... Anyone want to place a bet on how long before we hear back from Yu about doing something about Anubis?" You ask.  
  
_"No,"_ Hammond and Ka'turnal say at the same time.  
  
"I've had my fill of bet placers for today, thank you very much," and with that, the Goa'uld formerly known as NIRRTI turns to leave.  
  
"Yeah..." You sigh. "I figured that'd be the case."

* * *

 

  
"So," you ask THOR onboard his spaceship over Earth. "What's this enemy you guys are facing?"  
  
"One that we might require your aid with in the future," Thor says. "Nirrti raised a valid point of you Humans coming up with interesting solutions to problems." He gives you a humoring look. "That said, we will not come to acquire your assistance unless absolutely necessary. Some of the High Council can be very... stubborn."  
  
"Ain't that the truth," you sigh.  
  
"Indeed," Thor nods.  
  
"...So why did this Anubis guy get kicked out of the System Lords anyways?" You ask.  
  
"He removed the Symbiote of his Master, and devoured it in front of the others," Thor answers.  
  
"...What, like Khepri did with Ra?" You ask.  
  
"Ironically, yes. However this incident happened long before Khepri took over the role of Ra, and it seemed she was unaware of this incident at the time," Thor says. "However, the difference between Khepri and Anubis in this case is that Khepri did it in relative privacy, Anubis... did not."  
  
"Damn," you shake your head. "That's brutal."  
  
"There were other incidents after his banishment, however I am not certain of their accuracy, so I am hesitant to tell you," Thor says. "Needless to say, if the rumors are to believed, Anubis is something even we Asgard would have trouble dealing with."  
  
"More so than this 'big bad threat' back home?" You ask.  
  
"Doubly so," Thor answers.  
  
"Damn," you shake your head. "This... does not sound good."  
  
"If Anubis is making his move now," Thor says, "you must be careful in how you proceed going forwards. He is a force to be reckoned with."  
  
"Well, I'm sure he'll get his 'reckoning' someday," you say. "Good luck out there, Thor."  
  
"Good luck to you as well, Colonel O'neill."  
  
And with that, you're beamed back down to Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh BOY was this a long one to write. Several days worth of trying to make sure I didn't CONTRADICT ANYTHING.   
> Next up SG-1 Side is "Point of View."
> 
> FUN FACT: Most Common Typo was "Backstab" as one word. I then BACK STABBED them all with a SPACE BAR to make them TWO WORDS. :D


	7. SG1:03x06: Point of View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parallel worlds and the Shenanigans there in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play SPOT THAT REFERENCE!

FEBRUARY 7TH, 1997.  
  
In a warehouse in a place that could have possibly been called "AREA 51," a mirror sits still among artifacts from an alien world.  
  
That world? Designated P3R-233, and it had last been used not too long ago to send one then Captain Samantha Carter to a Parallel world where Apophis had attacked early.  
  
But that story wasn't one that bared adapting into this text based format. In fact, the world from that particular adventure is gone entirely and holds no further reflection on future events.  
  
The QUANTUM MIRROR, however...  
  
The SILVER SHEEN showing its inactive state suddenly shimmers, and then disappears.  
  
A moment later, there's a FLASH OF LIGHT, and two individuals appear. They quickly stumble away, and a second later, TWO MORE appear out of thin air, and move to the side, away and out of sight.  
  
The four evacuees stare at the REFLECTED INTERIOR of a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT sort of storage space, and watch as some ARMORED SERPENT GUARDS stomp into view.  
  
The Serpent Guards stare for a few moments, before turning around and leaving, having decided that there was nothing worth seeing.  
  
With a sigh, DR. SAMANTHA CARTER reaches up and deactivates the QUANTUM MIRROR by turning off its power switch.  
  
"Well," she says. "That was intense. Atleast we're safe now."  
  
"Ah..." one of the other figures- one MAJOR CHARLES KAWALSKI- coughs nervously. "I think we spoke too soon."  
  
"Yeah," says one of the SECURITY GUARDS pointing guns at the two adults and two teen-aged children. "Something along those lines."

* * *

 

Your name is JUDE HARLEY, and you have no idea why you've been called into this SUDDEN LAST SECOND MEETING at the SGC. Nor why CASSANDRA has been asked to join you there, or ROXY for that matter either.  
  
"So, before we go in," Skaara says as he leads you three through the hallways to the Conference room. "Do any of you need a refresher on how we got the information about Apophis' attack on Earth?"  
  
"Nope," Roxy shakes her head. "I'm pretty solid on it."  
  
"Same," you say.  
  
"I think I missed something," Cassandra says.  
  
"Right, well, Major Carter found a Mirror on P3R-233 that sent her to a parallel world, where she learned about where Apophis launched from. Anyways, we kept the mirror locked up at Area 51-"  
  
You gawk for a second- "Area 51 is REAL!?"  
  
"-Er, yeah. Anyways, we've kept it there for safe keeping until, well..." Skaara laughs nervously. "The Mirror Activated this morning and people came through."  
  
"Oh, Snaaaap!" Roxy gasps. "Does that mean I'm gonna meet my alternate self from another universe!?"  
  
"Not exactly..." Skaara finishes, and a moment later, you four enter the conference room.  
  
Standing there are TWO SAMANTHA CARTERS- one of which has LONG HAIR, and one of which is YOUR CARTER with the shorter hair. Alternate Carter looks at you with a bit of SHOCK, which she quickly squashes away. There's a guy you SWEAR died a few years ago. ANOTHER Cassandra of all people- also with a different hairstyle to your Cassandra (Tied up in a pony tail rather than let loose) and---  
  
"Jude!?" One JOEY HARLEY gasps in surprise upon seeing you. "JUDE!!!" And then you're swept up into a SUPER STRONG SIBLING HUG the likes of which you haven't felt in YEARS.  
  
"J-Joey!?" You gasp- mostly from the shock of being hugged so tightly, but also partly from the sheer SHOCK VALUE of seeing your Sister again!! "What- how!?"  
  
"JOJO!!" And then Joey is pulled away from hugging you into a different hug, given exclusively by Roxy. "Oh you have no idea how much I've missed _yoouuuuu!!"_  
  
"Miss Lalonde!?" Joey exclaims in surprise as she's hugged. "What- You're actually here!?"  
  
"It's you, it's me, and aren't you all so happy to see us?" COLONEL O'NEILL says as he enters the room- pauses, and then shakes his head. "This is freaking weird."  
  
"Jack!" Alternate Samantha gasps. "You're alive!"  
  
"'Course I'm alive," O'neill frowns. "...Should I not be?"  
  
"Considering I saw you get gunned down by Apophis' First Prime," Says the man who steps forwards. "Yeah."  
  
"Kawalsky!?" O'neill asks, surprised. "How the hell-?"  
  
"Oh, good," Alternate Cassandra says in a very O'neill manner, "we found a universe where different people died than the usual ways."  
  
"This is so weird," your Cassandra says, staring at her double.  
  
"Holy shit-" Major Strider exclaims as he enters the room. "Please Tell Me this is isn't Weird Time Shit? Because this doesn't feel like Weird Time Shit to me."  
  
"Yeah," Skaara sighs. "This is going to be a weird briefing."

* * *

 

Your name is MAJOR SAMANTHA CARTER, and you're feeling MIGHTY CONFUSED by these shenanigans.  
  
"As far as my duplicate and I were able to figure out during our brief time together so far," your duplicate says. "My timeline diverges in 1969, where a Time Traveling SG-1 goes back in time from this world, and then returns forwards to this world, but are NOT the same SG-1 from my world."  
  
"So whatever changes to the timeline happen, happened after 1969," You say, then turn to look to General Hammond. "I'd be willing to bet it's something different you did with the note to yourself, Sir."  
  
And he nods in agreement. "There was a moment here in this world where I decided whether or not to go through with the loop. In this world I did, in that world, I suppose I didn't."  
  
"Right," your duplicate continued. "We compared notes of the Gate Program starting from Abydos. For starters, we never had Daniel Jackson join our program."  
  
"Lucky," O'neill says. "Our Daniel got body jacked."  
  
"Not so lucky," Kawalski says, "we DO know who Dr. Jackson was and is. He got snaked in our world too, ended up with some jerk ass know it all calling himself 'The Archivist.'"

Jolinar does the mental equivalent of a wince inside your head.  
  
"From there," your duplicate says, "the next major difference is that we opened our Stargate in summer of 1995, you opened yours in October of 1994."  
  
"The Rebellion on Abydos seems to have gone the same otherwise," you take over from there. "They recognized Skaara, and Jake Harley still lead the team there. General West still tried to assault his family at their house in Florida, but with one major difference."  
  
"Yo," Alternate Joey Claire raises her hand.  
  
"Joey didn't go to Alternia," Jude says, eyes widening in realization. "Hammond never gave her the Gate Address!"  
  
"Pa ended up blowing up that Stargate in the Attic, taking West with him," Alternate Joey explains, frowning. "Miss Lalonde took it bad and ended up skipping town pretty much entirely."  
  
"Jack and I took her and Jude in afterwards," Your Alternate says.  
  
"'Jack and I'?" O'neill asks, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"We got married on Abydos," your Alternate says bluntly. "We decided it was worth keeping up on Earth. Hence, I'm a Doctor instead of a Captain."  
  
"...Ah," O'neill says, glancing between you and your Alternate. "...How'd that work out for you?"  
  
"Up until you died fighting the Goa'uld?" Alternate You smiles, sadly. "Pretty well, actually."  
  
Jolinar just starts laughing inside your head. Oh, she is enjoying this WAY too much.  
  
You cough, awkwardly, and then continue on the briefing. "After that, it seems the SGC went on a hiatus of not operating from a year in their world. The next major incident was Apophis rearing his head and things on Chulak took a turn for the worst."  
  
"How worse?" O'neill asks.  
  
"You didn't go there, so you didn't convince Teal'c to join us," You say.  
  
"Wait wait wait-" Kawalsky interjects. "Are you saying that in this world you convinced Apophis' fucking FIRST PRIME into betraying his 'God'!?" He glares pointedly at O'neill. "How the Bloody hell did you do THAT!?"  
  
"I told him there was a better way," O'neill shrugs.  
  
"I knew Jack should have gone on that mission," Your Alternate says. "I just had a feeling, and I told him to go... but he insisted he stay home just because I had a cold."  
  
"After that, it seems things did go mostly the same as our real first year of continued operation," you continue, motioning at the two Cassandras. "Hanka was still wiped out by plague, a Me went to a parallel world after finding a Quantum Mirror, but the differences spiral out differently from there."  
  
"Our Apophis launched early. By the time I'd returned with the information, the Gate Address didn't do anything," Your Alternate explains. "And he didn't want our deaths either, in our world."  
  
"He wanted our enslavement," Kawalsky concludes. "Our Earth is completely under Apophis' control. Every major city is conquered, and the population's been made slaves. Our base was our last line of defense. We scoured worlds, hunting down anything we could use to fight back, but in the end..."  
  
"Apophis finally tracked us down and attacked the base," Your Alternate says. "We tried to evacuate people through the Gate to the Alpha site, but some of us didn't make it through on time. Some of us didn't even make it out of that kill box either."  
  
"Alternate Me died there, huh?" O'neill asks.  
  
"Yeah," Kawalsky answers. "Trying to talk that First Prime down from attacking."  
  
"Damn it," O'neill shakes his head. "Yeah, that's a bad way to go."  
  
"...What about me?" Jude asks.  
  
Silence fills the room as the Alternates all grimace.  
  
"You died," Alternate Cassandra finally says. "Car accident a few days before the invasion began."  
  
"...Oh," Jude blinks. "That's... surprisingly mundane."  
  
"If it helps, you shoved Cassie out of the way," Alternate Joey says.  
  
"Kinda helps," Jude nods.  
  
"So..." Roxy begins. "What now?"  
  
"We can't stay here long term," Your Alternate says. "For starters, our mirror was damaged slightly when I first found it, and judging from the first time I used it, I'm sure the damage resulted in the possibility that any of us who have living duplicates here in this world, Me and Cassandra especially, are going to suffer a form of Quantum, Entropic Cascade Failure. Because there are two of us existing at the same time and the origin Mirror couldn't properly calibrate our data for transfer originally. It shouldn't happen for another two days at most, though."  
  
"Second of all," Kawalsky says, "we didn't come here to leave our Earth in the lurch. We came to ask for help. Find a world where things went mostly okay and then make things go right on our end of things. Then everyone returns home and we sing, I dunno, Disney songs or something."  
  
"Sir," O'neill turns to Hammond, who nods.  
  
"If this world is the consequences of me choosing not to send that damned letter back in time, I need to see it through," Hammond says. "Let's figure out a plan of attack."  
  
"In the Meantime," Alternate Joey says. "I wanna find out what other me has been up to."  
  
"I can help with that," Jude says, standing up from his chair.  
  
"Go ahead and use my lab," you tell him. "We should have another video ready and decrypted in another few hours, if it isn't done already."

* * *

 

Your name is CASSANDRA FRAISER, and you're feeling REALLY AWKWARD staring at your alternate self.  
  
The fact of the matter is, she's clearly just as weirded out- but more so due to the fact that Jude is ALIVE.  
  
She keeps STARING like she's seen a ghost, which... honestly, you suppose she HAS, if her Jude died saving her from a car.  
  
A car of all things.  
  
Right now, the two ALTERNATE UNIVERSE SEPARATED HARLEY SIBLINGS are nice and distracted with watching videos sent from This Universe's Joey, so you figure... you might as well ask your Alternate Self a question or two.  
  
"So... what was it like, having both of them as friends?" You ask.  
  
"Joey and Jude?" Alternate You smiles, warmly at that. "It's an interesting dynamic. I'll say that much. Joey's kind of over protective. She told me after he died that... she was afraid of something like that happening. That she'd take her eyes off of him for one minute and..." She takes a deep breath- trying to keep her emotions in check. You should know, you've done that yourself on occasion.  
  
"Sorry," you apologize. "I shouldn't have asked."  
  
"No, it's fine," she tells you- her- yourself? "I... It just hurts, is all. There was a lot I wanted to say to him and I never got the chance."  
  
"HOLY SHIT!" Alternate Joey exclaims. "I have an Alien Girlfriend!?"  
  
Alternate you glances over at a PAUSED VIDEO of the Troll Girl named MIERFA DURGAS. Alternate Joey seems to be peering at every possible angle imaginable to take in the girl's appearance.  
  
"Huh," Alternate You says. "Yeah, that's Joey's type alright."  
  
"She has a type?" You ask.  
  
"Woooow," Alternate Joey whistles. "Alt-Me's got Super Lucky!"  
  
"Grey-ish complexion, short cut hairstyle, athletic build, clothing favoring excessive amounts of blue?" Alternate You nods. "Yup. That's her type."  
  
"Grey-ish complexion?" You ask, feeling like there's a story behind it.  
  
"...My Joey met her girlfriend at the base's Halloween party last year," Alternate You says, then elaborates. "She was dressed up as a Cheerleader Zombie."  
  
"...Huh," you say in response. "Anyone I know?"  
  
"Probably not, unless your version of Doctor Landry has a daughter named 'Rommy,' I guess," Alternate You says. "But she was alive, and made it through the Gate alive. So we've got extra reason to want to make it back in one piece."  
  
"...Who's Doctor Landry?" You ask.  
  
"Guess that answers that, then," Alternate You laughs.  
  
"SPACE LOBSTERS!!!" Alternate Joey yells out in excitement. "I HAVE AN ARMY OF SPACE LOBSTERS!?!?"  
  
"Yup," Jude says, nodding. "Apparently they're called Arai Beetles."  
  
"Haha! I love it! I want one! NO! TWENTY!" Alternate Joey says with GLEE. "WAIT! NO! I WANT A HUNDRED!!!"  
  
"...Is she usually like this?" You ask Alternate You.  
  
"She IS a little bit hyper compared to usual," Alt You answers. "I think she's just... um, excited that she gets to hang out with her little brother again, AND gets to find out all about the life her alternate universe self has been going on."  
  
"...Fair enough," you muse.  
  
"...So what's it like with just Jude?" Alternate You asks.  
  
"Mostly just baby sitting," you answer.  
  
"Baby sitting?" Alternate you asks.  
  
"Um, yeah, ah..." You laugh a bit. "Our Roxy stuck around, married Jude's cousin Alec, and has two kids, Rose and John. And... and Sha're and Daniel had a daughter, but Sha're died in child birth, and Daniel's MIA, and Skaara didn't think he was fit to raise a kid, so Jude's Pa took her in, but with him dead now..." You smile. "Jude's basically taken over parenting duties for her."  
  
"Really?" Alternate you looks Jude over for a minute, then asks, "What's her name?"  
  
"Jade," you say.  
  
"Real original," alternate you smiles. "Jude, Jade, Joey, Jake, John. Add in their Aunt Jane and..." She shakes her head. "Yeah. That's a lot of J names."  
  
"But that's not all," you say. "Major Davis, from back in the briefing room- guy with the shades on indoors?- he's got an adoptive daughter too- Nepeta- and she's something else too."  
  
"Wait- What's a Moirail?" Alternate Joey asks.  
  
"Uhh, well, it's kind of like this Alien sort of Therapist? Except Romantic??" Jude tries to explain the best he can.  
  
"That's so WEIRD! And this Xefros kid is Mine??" Alternate Joey stares at another paused video, showing a certain RUST BLOODED TROLL. "Wow... Just wow. Polyamory relationships? What's this planet's Gate Address?? SIGN ME UP!"

"Ahah, well, that's..." Jude tries to babble his way out of it.  
  
"Other than Babysitting," you continue on a different track. "We mostly just hang around the base, or at Roxy's house, or at Mom's."  
  
"Mom lived here?" Alternate You asks, sounding somewhat hopeful.  
  
"Oh, no, I mean..." You flinch, embarrassed and annoyed at yourself for your slip up. "The woman who took me in here, Janet Fraiser. She adopted me. Sorry for getting your hopes up. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"Oh, that's..." Alternate You smiles, sadly. "I'm glad you have someone for that, then. Kawalski's been taking care of me since..." She sighs. "Since I nearly blew up the Stargate."  
  
"...That was you in your timeline?" You ask.  
  
"...It was someone else here?" Alternate You asks in turn.  
  
"Yeah, it was..." You sigh. "How is it things could go so similar, yet so different?"  
  
"I dunno," Alternate You shrugs. "I guess..." She trails off, staring at Jude. "I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same."  
  
You two sit in relative silence for a moment, basking in the noise of Jude and Joey talking.  
  
"Wait. Wait wait wait." Alternate Joey suddenly whirls on Jude. "JUDE. What the HELL is this about you staring down a BLACK HOLE!?"  
  
"It wasn't technically in person??" Jude offers. "Just through a malfunctioning Stargate? And besides, Major Strider did the heavy lifting and threw the bomb at the-"  
  
"BOMB!?" Alternate Joey exclaims. "THERE WAS A BOMB!? YOU THREW A BOMB AT A FUCKING BLACK HOLE!?"  
  
"...Er... yes?" Jude answers, uncertain as to what reaction he'll get.  
  
"I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!" and then Joey pulls him into a hug. "Alt me is so going to ground you when she finds out BUT YOU ARE AWESOME, LITTLE BRO!!"  
  
"...A black hole?" Alternate You asks, staring at you with horror, confusion, and a little bit of AWE.  
  
"I was there too," you say. "I helped them position the bomb!"  
  
"...Epic!" Alternate You grins.  
  
Alternate Joey lets go of Jude, smiling in that way only family can. "Seriously, Jude! Alt me is going to be so amazingly proud when she finds out what you've been up to!"  
  
"I hope so," Jude smiles as well. "I've missed you- her- you know?"  
  
"Mmh," Alternate Joey nods. "Same here. It... loosing you.. My you. Was..." She sniffs. "It hurt more than loosing Pa, honestly."  
  
"Things weren't good between us and him in that world either, huh?" Jude asks.  
  
"Not really, no." Alternate Joey looks like she wants to say more on that subject, when the two CARTERS come into the Lab, with your universe's Carter carrying the DEVICE O'neill built when he got the Ancient Database Knowledge downloaded into his head.  
  
"Oh! Jude! Good, you're still here," your Carter says, "can you go fetch the notes you took when Colonel O'neill made this?"  
  
"Uh, yeah," Jude nods. "I can do that." And thus he quickly scampers off to do that with a "Be Right Back!"  
  
A bit too quickly for your liking, honestly. "I'll go help," you say, getting up to go after him.  
  
"I'll come to," Alternate You says as well, which... yeah, sure, why not.  
  
And thus as you both leave the lab to go after Jude, you hear the conversation echoing out of the room.  
  
"So what's the plan?" Alternate Joey asks.  
  
"We're going to restart the Ancient Power Generator," one of the Carters, yours, you'd guess, "allowing us to dial the Asgard home planet from your Earth, and send someone through to let them know about the Goa'uld invasion, which they'll almost certainly stop, given similar events in our Galaxy."  
  
"...Don't know what half of that means, but cool," Alternate Joey says before she gets out of hearing range.  
  
"Hey," Alternate You says once you're a bit away from the Lab and also not caught up to Jude yet. "Can I ask you a personal question?"  
  
"Um, sure," you answer.  
  
"Do you like Jude?" She asks. "Like, I mean, LIKE like."  
  
"Uh- What?" You honestly weren't expecting that question. "I honestly never thought about it. Besides, aren't we a bit young for that sort of thing??"  
  
"Sure, I guess, but... I'm pretty sure I liked my Jude," Alternate You continues. "I was just starting to think, 'maybe,' and then he shoves me out of the way of a car and-" She shakes her head, clearly trying not to relive the memory. "I never got a chance to talk with my Jude about it."  
  
"I'm sorry," you say. "Maybe you could talk to this Jude and-?"  
  
"No. I won't do that to either of you." She looks you in the eyes and says, "Listen. It's cool if you don't like him like that, but if... If you DO feel that way about him? Just try not to waste time, okay? You never know when something like a Car can come running out of nowhere and- well." She sighs. "Take it from someone who's going to have to live with that kind of regret for the rest of her life. It's not a nice feeling."  
  
"I..." You nod, throat feeling dry. "I'll think about it."  
  
"That's all I ask," Alternate You gives a smile, and then falls back a bit. "I'll go back and keep the Carters and Joey company."  
  
"Alright," you nod, and watch as your Alternate Self heads back down the hallway to the Lab.  
  
With a shake of your head, you head over to what was once JAKE HARLEY'S OFFICE.  
  
You find Jude sitting in his Pa's CHAIR, idly spinning a few inches left before reversing to return back the same distance right, and then back to the left, and the right, again. All the while, he's looking through one of his journals trying to find certain notes in it.  
  
"You okay?" You ask, entering the Office.  
  
"I know it's not my Joey, but..." He sighs, stopping his spinning. "It feels horrible, knowing she's going back to a world where me and Pa aren't there anymore."  
  
"She'll have Carter, and Alt me there," you say.  
  
"Yeah, but..." Jude shakes his head. "No Jade, no Roxy, no John or Rose, no Nepeta... it just sounds so lonely."  
  
"Well, Other me said Joey has a girlfriend, so..." You shrug. "Might not be so lonely?"  
  
"I guess," Jude shakes his head, then turns a page. "Ah! There it is." He smiles. "Found my notes on the device."

* * *

 

"SOOO..." Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you're feeling a bit... uncomfortable with the looks the ALTERNATE UNIVERSE VERSION of one of your cousin-in-laws is giving you as you both wait in line at the cafeteria.  
  
"So what?" Joey asks, frowning.  
  
"I feel like I should apologize," you say. "That I wasn't there for you."  
  
"Wasn't really you," Joey replies, shrugging, and then saying to the lunch lady- "Mac n Cheese, please."  
  
"Sure thing, sweetie." And a bowl is placed on her plate.  
  
"I'll have a slice of pizza, please," you say, and get a plate and a slice of GENERIC PEPPERONI PIZZA placed.  
  
A few moments of silence pass as you exit the lunch line and head over to a table to eat at.  
  
"But it was," you finally say as you sit down. "It might've been a different version of me but it was still me."  
  
"Miss Lalonde, don't take this the wrong way, but beyond looking the same in the face?" Joey looks at you from across the table as she jabs her spoon into her mac 'n' cheese, "You're nothing like the woman who babysat me and Jude in my world." Then, punctuating that, she lifts her spoon and hefts the food into her mouth.  
  
"Really?" You ask. "Was I really that bad?" Then, you take a bite of pizza to give an opening for Joey.  
  
"Well, for starters you're WAY too touchy feely," Joey says. "She... she was stuck up, straight laced, and kinda strict when she wasn't drunk off her ass." She goes for another spoonful of Mac 'n' Cheese.  
  
"...Well, that really doesn't sound like me," You remark, frown returning as you go for another bite of pizza.  
  
"No, it doesn't, does it?" Joey shakes her head. "And honestly, she was drunk off her ass so often she was pretty much useless. Never needed an excuse either." She punctuates her annoyance with your ALTERNATE SELF by shoveling in two spoonfuls of Mac 'n' Cheese in quick succession.  
  
"I'll admit I drank a bit heavily for a while after I turned eighteen," you say, filling in the time, "but your Pa set me straight after I took it too far one night and ever since I've always made sure not to touch a bottle unless there was a legitimate reason to celebrate! And now that I've got my own kids to take care of, I don't think I've touched a bottle in years!"  
  
You punctuate your point by aggressively ripping off a round slice of slightly overcooked meat off of your pizza and throwing it in your mouth.  
  
"See?" Joey laughs, a bit bitterly. "You're a completely different person. So nothing to apologize for."  
  
"I just wonder what made me and her go on such divergent paths?" You ask.  
  
"Probably that long distance boyfriend you would gush about when drunk," Joey says.  
  
"How far is long distance exactly?" You frown. "Did you ever get a name?"  
  
"Nope. Just that he was some douche-bag rapper in Texas," Joey answers.  
  
"...Hrmf," you frown. "Yeah, that really doesn't sound like my type. Your cousin Alec, though? I really like him. Great sense of humor, ran a jokeshop before we moved out here to Colorado. We've been thinking about opening up another one down here. Hasn't panned out just yet, though."  
  
"Who's Alec?" Joey asks.  
  
"Jane's son," you answer.  
  
"...Huh, weird," Joey responds. "I think I met him at the wake in Florida," Joey muses, then nods. "Yeah, he was nice enough, I guess. But his name was Paul instead of Alec. Also, I think he worked as an accountant for some circus or something?"  
  
"That's really weird," You laugh.  
  
"It does seem kinda silly in retrospect," Joey agrees with a nod.  
  
Over the rest of LUNCH, your conversation then begins treading into more familiar territory. Things you're all too happy to talk about and distract from the tense nature of ALTERNATE UNIVERSES. All the things you've wanted to tell your world's JOEY, but can't without putting it in front of a camera.  
  
You haven't heard back from Joey yet, and whether or not that's just a POWER ISSUE, or something else distracting her, you're not sure. Maybe they're still sifting through the data files over there on Alternia?  
  
Who knows. You sure don't.  
  
"Hey," Joey says suddenly. "Jude was showing me videos from this world's me. Would you mind too terribly if I recorded something for her for whenever she eventually sees it?"  
  
You smile. "I think she'd like that."

* * *

 

It ends up being fairly easy to set up a camera, and find a private room to record in- Jake's old office, which you and Jude have both sort of taken over as your own.  
You get the camera set up on the desk, and have Joey sit in the chair, and you... RECORD.  
  
"Hey there, Alternate Universe Me! It's You, Joey from An Alternate Universe where everything went to shit and never went to this Alternia place at all!" She pauses, then says, "Just between you and me, that's a whole lot of extraneous 'alternate' words in that last exchange. Parallel? Parallel works better, I guess."  
  
You give her a thumbs up.  
  
"So, uh, yeah. Things are WEIRD here," Joey continues. "It's... very very weird. I dunno how you survived with such a hyperactive Miss Lalonde, but... I kinda wish I had her instead of the one I had. Yours is a lot nicer. And Jude! You've still got Jude!" She pauses, grief flashing across her eyes for a moment, then she says, "I miss him so much."  
  
She sits for a few moments, and you smile encouragingly.  
  
"...Honestly," Joey continues. "You should take it easy on him when you finally get back here. I know your first instinct is gonna be to ground him FOREVER because he helped throw a bomb at a black hole but- Damn it, you and your brother are living such AMAZING lives, A.U. Me! Alien invasions and hostile takeovers aside... my life has been pretty boring the last few years. Boring and lonely."  
  
She sits there again, working her jaw as she tries to figure out what to say next.  
  
"Listen. I know this is weird, getting talk back from another version of yourself, but maybe this is for the best," Joey continues. "I've seen what you've got over there, and you've got it made. Really, you do. But make sure you find a way back here alive, alright? Loosing a sibling to another galaxy sucks, sure, but take it from MY personal experience- loosing one to some stupid suicidal heroic self-sacrifice is WORSE. Don't do anything stupid. Okay, me? I want you to promise me that you won't do anything stupid."  
  
There's a pause, then she sighs.  
  
"Okay. I guess, that's all I really wanted to say. Hopefully we won't ever meet face to face, but if we ever do..." She smiles. "I'm sure you'll have a LOT more amazing stories to tell. Yea?"

* * *

 

Your name is JUDE HARLEY, and the POWER BOOSTING DEVICE is finished and WORKING AGAIN.  
  
"Okay," Your Carter says as she hands her duplicate a FLASH DRIVE with the DIALING PROGRAM installed on it. "Just plug this into the main server, and the Gate should start dialing immediately."  
  
"Thanks," Alternate Carter says, nodding in acceptance.  
  
"Alright, team," O'neill says, "let's go save a world."  
  
And with that, he touches the mirror and TRANSPORTS THROUGH. Following him are TEAL'C (dressed in JAFFA ARMOR as a disguise), SKAARA, KAWALSKY, and the alternate Carter.  
  
You watch them all spread out and leave the STORAGE CLOSET the Mirror on their world had been kept in, and then... there's nothing to do but wait.  
  
"So..." You begin to ask, "How long do you think before they come back?"  
  
That's when the image on the mirror fluctuates suddenly, and seems to be overridden as someone else CONNECTS from the other side.  
  
"Wait, what the?" You stare. "Isn't that Daniel?"  
  
True enough, the person on the other side of the mirror, standing in a room VERY SIMILAR to the one that the mirror had been set to for the other reality, is a DANIEL JACKSON of some kind. He's wearing the standard SG-1 Team uniform, has short hair, and he seems MIGHTILY CONFUSED by the presence of YOU KIDS standing alongside Carter on your end of the mirror.  
  
"Uh, hi?" Carter gives him a confused wave, which the other Daniel gives a wave in return, similarly confused.  
  
He mouths something along the lines of "That's definitely not right," and then messes with a REMOTE in his hands, and the image WAVERS, and then fades away, returning the image back to the world that had originally been connected.  
  
"...What the hell was that about?" Alternate Joey asks.  
  
"I'd guess our world isn't the only one that went to another world for help," Alternate Cassie says.  
  
"Guess not," your Cassie says in agreement.  
  
And so you sit and wait- a few minutes later, you see A SKAARA WITH LONG HAIR appear on the mirror's surface. He, too, seems taken back by the multitude of KIDS standing there.  
  
He shakes his head and then changes the mirror again without so much as another word, returning your connection back to the one it was before- or atleast, you still hope it's the same one.  
  
About five seconds later, another CONNECTION IS MADE, this time with a SAMANTHA CARTER standing there in a room that's almost certainly a MIRROR IMAGE of the one you're in, save for one detail- she's alone with no kids at her side, her clothing is DISTINCTLY VICTORIAN in design, and her HAIR IS LONG, AND BLACK, and pulled up into a PONYTAIL.  
  
She seems completely startled by the revelation of a her with SHORT BLONDE HAIR, and yells out what you can only assume is a "[BLOODY HELL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_\(TV_series\))!"  
  
That's when some DANIEL LOOKING WANNABE leans in from off screen, and frowns. He turns back to the other Carter and says something you can't see his lips to read.  
  
Other Carter shakes her head and messes with the mirror remote on her end and then you're back to looking at that STORAGE CLOSET.  
  
"...Is it just me," Your Cassie says, "or is this going to be a thing that just keeps happening?"  
  
Her answer comes in the form of another MIRROR CONNECTION, except this time in the form of the room across from you being the form of some kind of SHIP'S HOLD, within which you see a JOEY, and SEVERAL ALTERNIAN TROLLS you don't recognize. They all seem to be wearing GREEN HUED SCHOOL UNIFORMS, though. Possibly undercover? Who knows.  
  
Other Alternate Joey squints at Alternate Joey on your side, and then raises her left wrist- which has an INCOMPLETE BRACELET, featuring PINK, YELLOW, AND BLUE crystals.  
  
Alternate Joey raises her bare left wrist showing nothing there.  
  
Other Alternate Joey frowns, and then taps the controls of HER MIRROR and the view fades away, back to the storage closet.  
  
"That was extremely weird," Alternate Joey says. "What's up with the Bracelet? Your Joey had one too, in one of those videos."  
  
"Apparently it's the key to some kind of super weapon," Carter says. "But Joey didn't get the Bracelet part until after the battle on Karfin, so..."  
  
"So that wasn't our Joey," you say.  
  
As if to answer your question, another image comes into view- this time of a MUCH OLDER JOEY, easily in her Twenties, standing along side a TEENAGED GIRL who you take a moment to realize is JADE!!  
  
The Older Jade reaches out for the mirror, but MUCH OLDER JOEY stops her from touching it, shaking her head and telling her that's not the right world.  
  
"...Is there some kind of time differential going on with these too?" Your Cassie wonders as that world disappears from sight as well.  
  
The next mirror world showcases a [YOUNG JAPANESE GIRL](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/2/2a/Silica_PB_Character_Design.png/revision/latest?cb=20140722142016) YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE with CAT EARS growing from her head and a miniature BLUE DRAGON perched on her shoulder.  
  
She stares at you all for several moments, and then tilts her head to the side- ears flexing in obvious confusion.  
  
You give her a small wave in greeting, to which the girl returns, and then fades from view as she changes mirror settings.  
  
"Okay," you ask, "did ANYONE recognize that girl?"  
  
"Nope," ends up being the general CONSENSUS, even as the mirror suddenly reconnects to a DIFFERENT VERSION of the [SAME GIRL](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/8/8a/Silica%27s_SAO_Avatar_Full_Body.png/revision/latest?cb=20150913150640) you just saw- this time not having CAT EARS, but still having the same BLUE DRAGON- this time on a different shoulder.  
  
The Girl seems to recognize your own recognition of her, and then holds up a sign reading, "DID YOU SEE A ME WITH CAT EARS?"  
  
You nod vigorously, and the Girl pumps a fist in the air, mouthing an enthusiastic "YES!"  
  
Then, she holds up another sign, reading, "HOW FAR BACK?"  
  
You hold up a single finger, indicating "One Window Back."  
  
The Girl's eyes light up with glee, mouths a "Thanks!" and then disconnects her window from your world.  
  
"...I have no idea what that was about," Carter says, "or WHY a girl that young is dealing with parallel universe versions of herself, but... I hope she has good luck making whatever connection she wants to make."  
  
This continues for several more minutes- with wild and varied connections coming through showing parallel universes galore that clearly are trying to find their OWN UNIVERSES AGAIN. A lot of them feature people you DON'T RECOGNIZE PERSONALLY, or end up featuring people you only have ever seen on TV.  
  
Hell, at one point, you end up seeing the cast of THE FIRST SEASON OF POWER RANGERS on the other side of the mirror! That's just INSANE!  
  
One of the last ones you see ends up being of some DUDE tinkering with the MIRROR in a laboratory overlooking an OLD MINING TOWN that has a DISTINCTLY ALIEN SKY. (There are [FLOATING ROCKS AND GIANT MOONS](https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7137909/00110%20Obduction.jpg) in the background!)  
  
Then, when he disconnects that connection, you see YOUR STRIKE TEAM returning from their adventure, looking relieved at a JOB WELL DONE.  
KAWALSKY beckons his Cassie and Joey to come through, and gives an "OK!" sign.  
  
"Looks like everything went okay on their end," Alternate Cassie says, moving to step towards the mirror, but pauses as she catches the eye of YOUR WORLD'S HER. Some weird thing passes between them as Your Cassie tilts her head at you. "Hey, Jude?"  
  
"Yeah?" You ask.  
  
"Can I do something I never got a chance to do with my Jude?" She asks. "You don't have to, if it's too weird, but... If you wouldn't mind?"  
  
"Sure," you say. "I don't mind filling in for the other me."  
  
"...Thanks," she smiles, and then steps up to face you eye to eye. She takes a moment to breathe in, closes her eyes, and then exhales slowly. "Jude Harley. I'm going to miss you so very much. And I'm sorry I never got to say this to you face to face. But I loved you so much and I wish we could have gotten more time together."  
  
And then before you can even process those words- she leans in and plants a kiss on your lips. A second later, she pulls away, and you kind of stare, shocked into silence.  
  
"Goodbye, Jude." She says, and then turns to the mirror and teleports through to the other side, at the same time, SKAARA and TEAL'C come through from the other side.  
  
"-some feeling of closure to the idea of my killing a version of myself who refused to leave Apophis' service," Teal'c is in the middle of saying. "I feel as if I have finally closed that chapter of my life and can move on."  
  
"Yeah, sure," Skaara agrees with a nod as they step out around you to head off to do where-ever they're heading to. "Still, isn't it kind of weird?"  
  
"As I just said, Skaara, I do not feel weird about it," Teal'c answers as they enter the hallway and meander off out of hearing range.  
  
"...Well THAT was a non-sequitur," Alternate Joey says.  
  
"Uh, yeah," you finally manage to say with a nod.  
  
"Soo..." She turns to look at you. "I'm not gonna do anything weird like kiss you or anything, but... would you mind if I used you as a stand in too?"  
  
You shake your head to clear out the cobwebs from Alternate Cassie kissing you, and you say to your Alternate Universe Sister, "No, I don't mind."  
  
"Alright," she nods, then says. "Jude, you were a pesky little brother sometimes. Sometimes you were bratty, sometimes I just thought you were just this gross little boy I was forced to take care of. You left your POGS everywhere for crying out loud! ...But when it came down to it, you proved me wrong." She pulls you into a hug, and says, "Next time you try to be a hero, throw yourself out of oncoming trafic too? Okay?"  
  
You nod, and hug her back. "I will, Joey. I'll look both ways and everything."  
  
"Hah!" She laughs, and then pulls away from the hug, looking you in the eyes. "You're gonna do okay, Jude. Just hang in there 'til your Big Sis comes back, okay?"  
  
"I'll try my best," you say.  
  
"Ah Ah Ah! There is no try, only Do!" Joey says, quoting Star Wars.  
  
You both laugh at that.  
  
"Maybe I'll come visit again, some time," she says, smiling as she heads over to the mirror. "Hopefully next time Alt me will be here so we can talk and share embarrassing stories about our baby brother!"  
  
"Oh God! Please don't do that," your INDIGNANT PROTEST is ruined by the fact that you're LAUGHING at her statement.  
  
"See ya around, Jude!" Joey gives a salute, and then walks backward into the mirror's surface- flashing through to the other side and spinning on her heel as she dodges around HER CARTER and your Colonel O'neill as he stands in for the him of HIS WORLD as well.  
  
You see YOUR CARTER grimace slightly in unease as she watches her other self kiss O'neill, and then he gives a small bow, says something to the Cassie and Joey on his side that makes them laugh, and then steps up to the mirror.  
  
With a flash of light, he returns to your side, and sighs in relief.  
  
"Well," he says as he pulls out a familiar looking POWER BOOSTING DEVICE from his backpack and throws it to Carter, who catches it with ease. "Today was QUITE the day."  
  
"That it was," Carter says. "Jolinar's been laughing in my head the entire time."  
  
"I bet she would," O'neill shakes his head, and then walks over to you and Cassie, planting his hands on both of your shoulders. "Now then, you two," he says. "I seriously hope neither of you consider dating until you're well into your twenties. Maybe not even 'til your thirties."  
  
Whatever response Cassandra had prepared for him chokes in her throat and you feel all the blood rushing from your head down to your FEET. (Your toes positively TINGLE.)  
  
With a double PAT to each shoulder, O'neill walks past you, and heads out into the hallway.  
  
You look at Cassandra, and she looks at you, and you both say generally the same thing at the same time, summarized as:  
  
"We are not talking about today for atleast another year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the answers to SPOT THAT REFERENCE!
> 
> First up is CANON SG-1's Daniel's hurried search through parallel Universes, then a SKAARA doing the same thing.
> 
> SANCTUARY makes an appearance! Helen Magnus and her assistant WIL show up, evidently in the middle of some strange puzzle of the day involving a Quantum Mirror.
> 
> Next is a Joey on an Alternia with a QUANTUM MIRROR along with some POSSIBLY (NOT) CANON JADE BLOOD TROLLS. No idea how that got there. Then a Joey that's around the age she'd be during CANON HOMESTUCK'S TIME FRAME with a JADE who's around 13, matching that same time frame. 
> 
> Following that are two versions of SILICA from Sword Art Online, who somehow have gotten entangled in their own QUANTUM MIRROR SHENANIGANS. (This is a nod to a plot bunny that's been nesting in my head for a while but I've never had a real story to fill the plot with.)
> 
> And then finally we have C.W. on HUNRATH in his lab. (A version of CANON!Obduction that got lucky and had its QUANTUM MIRROR scooped up by a Seed Swap.)


	8. ALT:03X02: Letter from Alternia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we start to catch up to the present day of SG-1's side of things...

It was a fairly average day on the crashed Alternian ship "All Your Base," the sun was blazing down from above, heating the desert to a mighty boil, and the REBELLION had teams OFF WORLD, snoozing down in the NEARBY CAVE SYSTEM, keeping watch on the skies using the LONG RANGE SCANNERS ripped out of TWO DOWNED MILITARY VESSELS, and, in the case of three young trolls and a human girl sitting around a table in the dining hall, TALKIN' ABOUT MUSIC.  
  
Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you feel loath to interrupt it, so instead you just stand there and watch for a moment.  
  
"Since people really seemed tied between Xefros' and Joey's singing," Dammek is in the middle of saying. "And Xefros' version of 'Gravity Hurts' is just barely in the lead, I think we should go with his as the full version, and then try another song with Joey as the lead vocalist."  
  
"I dunno," Joey says, shrugging, "I guess I can give it a try. Xef?"  
  
"I can write up some lyrics better suited for your vocal range," Xefros muses.   
  
"I'm no good with actually playing any instruments," Mierfa says, "but if you need someone on screen to pretend play a keyboard, I'm in."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Dammek says, and then notices that you're waiting at the edge of the room. "Hey, Callie. Come on over."  
  
"Hey, Callie," Joey smiles. "What's up?"  
  
"I didn't want to interrupt," you say. "I think I found something interesting while reviewing the Megaship's black box."  
  
"Oh?" Xefros asks, sitting up. "What'd you find?"  
  
"I managed to trace a wild Matter Stream being beamed off of one of the Mofang Ships moments before we entered Hyperspace," you explain, presenting a tablet with a video on it. "Out of curiosity, I tracked it's progression by hacking some of the Empire's satellites and found that it exited our Galaxy entirely."  
  
"Really?" Joey asks, frowning. "If it wound up in another galaxy, and there was one of those Mofang Replicators in it..."  
  
"If it headed in a straight line, its trajectory seems to intersect two different galaxies," you say, bringing up pictures of the two galaxies in question. "The first one is only a graze, but the second is definitely a termination landing."  
  
Joey takes the tablet and peers at the two Galaxies, curiosity framing her face as she takes in the details.  
  
"Well, galaxies are far away from ours, right?" Dammek asks. "There's no way it's going to intersect either of those for months, at least."  
  
"That's what I thought, too, except I did some math," you shake your head. "The matter stream was moving almost too fast TO record any data on. Faster than one should have been. I think it was super charged somehow, possibly to escape the time dilation. The matter stream grazed the first galaxy within hours, and terminated in the second in less than a day's time after it left our galaxy."  
  
"...What the hell?" Xefros asks. "Shouldn't that be impossible?"  
  
"Apparently not," you say. "Anyways, I was a bit concerned, like Joey was about the Replicators spreading. But that's when I came to a realization."  
  
"It's Milky Way," Joey says, suddenly.  
  
"What?" Dammek asks. "What's Milky about what Path?"  
  
"No, no," Joey corrects him. "The Milky Way Galaxy," she points at a picture of one of the two galaxies- the first one. "This is what my Galaxy looks like."  
  
"Woah," Xefros gasps. "That's incredible!"  
  
"Kind of a lame name, though," Dammek remarks. "Who names their galaxy after a drink?"  
  
"The distances check out," you say, taking the tablet from Joey, and bringing up your MATH WORK. "That Galaxy is where Joey's departing wormhole originated from. I've got a general idea of what the Gate Address might be, now, thanks to it."  
  
"Just a General idea, though?" Mierfa frowns.   
  
"I'm still narrowing it down to specific symbols," you say, "but it's close enough that I can actually run proper power calculations and figure out how much energy we need to store in order to dial out with Salazl's macro program."  
  
"We can send our message in a bottle," Joey says, eyes glistening with wetness. "I can call home!"  
  
"And warn them," Mierfa says. "If we're lucky, no Mofang landed, but if they DID land somewhere in that galaxy, and they had a Replicator on them?"   
  
"Yeah," Xefros nods. "We need to let them know about that."  
  
"In the mean time," you say, smiling at Joey as you hand her back the tablet, set to the picture of her home Galaxy. "I'll let you stargaze for a bit."  
  
"Thanks, Callie," Joey smiles.   
  
That's when the GATE  ALARMS SOUND OFF, and then the five of you are called to the Gate Room.  
  
Latula is standing there in the Gate Room when you get there, and she hands over a LARGE ROCK to you- one carved with a startling total of[ NINE STARGATE SYMBOLS](https://axrosspaceandtime.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/stargateglyphs-earth9.png) on it.  
  
Nine?? Why Nine??  
  
"What is this?" You ask.  
  
"I found it buried in the jungle a few hours ago when an old tree got knocked down," she says. "Along with a note your future selves left back in the past for me to find just today, and bring it back to you the moment I found it."  
  
"Were there any solar flare numbers on the note?" You ask.  
  
"No, but I'd assume you left it there just shortly before you returned to what's still going to be the future," Latula says. "That's after you ran into yourselves, that is."  
  
"So we haven't done it yet," Joey says. "I wonder why we buried it? What's it for anyways?"  
  
"Your note said I should tell you..." Latlua thinks back for the exact wording, and then scoffs. "Apologies if I get it wrong, but it said something along the lines of 'This is the Milk in the Path'?"  
  
All of you turn to look at Dammek, who just opens his mouth slightly. "...Well, I suppose that's one way to ensure we have a context for this."  
  
"It's Earth," Mierfa says. "That's Earth's Gate Address."

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you're sitting in front of a video camera.  
  
"To anyone on Earth who might be receiving this," you say, "my name is Joey Claire, and we're sending this message partly as a warning, and partly to finally re-establish contact with Earth."  
  
You pause, looking at the camera, as you brace yourself.  
  
"About a month ago, during a skirmish at Karfin Outpost, several Mofang Assassins wound up being caught up in a Ring Transmat Beam that somehow was super charged." you continue, "We believe that one of the Transmat beams ended up being broadcast towards the Milky Way Galaxy. We have no idea where, or even if it will land, but if it does, you need to be aware that there are potentially Mofang Assassins in your galaxy."  
  
You hesitate, feeling nervous. You draw FEYTWO over to you for comfort.  
  
"Don't forget to mention the Timing issues," Xefros says from behind the camera, even as Feytwo settles on your shoulder.  
  
"Oh, right. Yeah." You nods "We're sorry it took so long to get this message to you, but first we had to calculate how much energy we'd need to send this transmission in the first place, and what the proper Gate Address even was. Thankfully, that second part fell into our laps pretty recently, so all that was left was gathering the energy needed to send this transmission. Callie's fancy math for it is included in one of the text files we sent, so you could maybe replicate this stunt if you've got the power saved up for it."   
  
"My math isn't that fancy," Callie remarks, sticking her tongue out at you.  
  
You laugh, "Oh hush, you! It's a compliment!"  
  
Callie smiles at you.  
  
"Anyways," you conclude, "there's a few personal messages, and a record of everything I've been up to elsewhere in this transmission, I think. Maybe not that 'record of everything' if we ran into the data cap. We're not sure on the exact compression ratio yet. We'll fine tune it and try again another time but- Wait. Crap." you stand up and walk over towards the console that Salazl's working on to compress all the files together on. "Salazl! They're not going to have a problem decrypting this, right?"  
  
"No, they shouldn't have any problems," Salazl says.  
  
"Okay, good," you nod, and go to sit back down.  
  
"I just shut the camera off since you got up," Xefros says.  
  
"Oh. Well... Fine, that'll do for an opening intro anyways." You decide. "I just hope it's enough and we're not too late."

* * *

 

Your name is MIERFA DURGAS, and you briefly awaken during the night to the sound of your MATESPRIT talking in her SLEEP.  
  
It's kind of adorable, you think. her muttering about BIRTHDAYS and her BROTHER.   
  
You snuggle in closer and, despite the lack of slime around you and her, fall back asleep rather easily.  
  
Tomorrow morning, the message will be sent.

* * *

 

"Alright," Zebede says. "Here we go, shot in the dark Nine Chevron Dialing sequence is a GO." And just like that, the Gate whirls to life, humming with the DETERMINED sound that comes with a MASSIVE POWER DRAW.  
  
Your name is OKURII LEIJON, and you stand there, arms crossed, as you hope and pray that this will work out alright.  
  
While Callie is FAIRLY CERTAIN the Nine Symbol Gate Address that their future selves left for you all to find IS EARTH'S ADDRESS, there's still the question of whether or not the Gate is active or not, and if there's anyone on the other side ready to receive the message you're about to send.  
  
Sure, Joey is confident her PA wouldn't let the program on their side be closed down, but you know how politics goes.  
  
"Chevron one, Encoded," Zebede says, as Chevron One locks.  
  
"Nervous?" You look to Joey.  
  
"Yeah," she nods. "I don't know what anyone back home will think about this. Jude, Pa, Roxy... I'm nervous and excited and I just... I hope everyone's just going to be relieved that we're okay out here."  
  
"Chevron two, Encoded," Zebede says, as Chevron Two locks.  
  
"I think they'll be relieved," Xefros says, eyes locked on the Gate as it spins around. "At the very least, they'll be glad to know that there's time worth spending trying to get in contact with us."  
  
"Chevron Three! Buzzin' like a Bee!" Zebede giggles to himself, and the Gate continues on.  
  
"Do you think they'll send us a message back?" Mierfa asks.  
  
"I certainly hope so," you say, as Zebede announces Chevron Four. "I'll only consider sending more messages to them once we're sure Earth is listening. No sense wasting the power."  
  
"Yeah," Joey nods. "That's fine. I'm gonna keep recording messages, though."  
  
"I would be surprised if you'd stopped," you say.  
  
"Chevron Five, In the Hive!" Zebede says as the room starts VIBRATING- or more specifically, the GATE starts shaking. "Er..."   
  
"This is normal, right?" You ask.  
  
"Yep," Joey and Dammek and Xefros all say in unison.  
  
"First time we dialed out from Earth to Abydos, our Gate shook," Joey says. "When I dialed out to Alternia, the Gate shook."  
  
"Ours shook when she dialed in," Dammek says.   
  
"Chevron Six--" The Gate whines to a stop as it puts the next glyph in the sequence in place, and then... THA-THWUNK! "Encoded! Whew."  
  
The room continues to vibrate and shake as the ring resumes spinning- getting worse and worse by the second.  
  
A nearby console SPARKS suddenly, even despite having been SHUT DOWN EARLIER to save on the power drain.  
  
"Well," you frown. "Even if we do get a return call, we might not dial out again anyways if this is going to happen every time we reach out!"   
  
"Chevron Seven- Encoded!" Zebede yells out as one of the two BOTTOM CHEVRONS lights up.  
  
"We'll need to figure out some way to stabilize it," Callie muses. "Otherwise... Otherwise this is NOT sustainable long term."  
  
"Chevron Eight- ENCODED!" Zebede squeals as a LIGHT BULB overhead bursts.  
  
"Here we go," Salazl calls out for the first time this entire sequence. "Message prepped for broadcast in three...!"  
  
"Chevron NINE...!"  
  
"TWO!"  
  
"IS...!" The Gate whirls to a STOP.  
  
KA--- The Chevron lights up. ---TWHUNK.  
  
"LOCKED!" Zebede exclaims.  
  
 **WAAA WAAA!** The Shaking stops so suddenly, it feels as if time itself has held its breath.  
  
"ONE!" Salazl yells.  
  
 _ **KAAAAWOOOOOOOSH!**_  
  
The VORTEX shoots out, and then colapses down into a wormhole for all of a second before DISENGAGING as the entire ship RUNS OUT OF POWER, leaving your only active light source the SUNLIGHT pouring in through the bridge's window.  
  
"...Did it work?" You ask.  
  
"...No way to tell," Salazl says. "We can hope, though."

* * *

 

It took a full day of not having power before the solar batteries had recharged enough that power was restored to the ship.  
  
"So..." you say to Callie as you sit down with her and the others in the dining hall. "What the hell reason could we POSSIBLY have for sending you all into the Summoner's Revolt?"  
  
"Hmm," Callie muses. "I'm not sure. I've been scouring historical records for any mention of us, but I can't say for certain what's meant for US, and what's just Empress Meenah's revisions."  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Dammek asks. "We have to go back and give them the idea to use the Bracelet in the first place."  
  
"I'm not sure how that's 'obvious,' Dammek," Xefros frowns.   
  
"Well, clearly we had to have some reason to be involved!" Dammek scowls.  
  
"Boys," You say, tone of voice warning.   
  
Xefros and Dammek glance at you, then both sigh, and let it go.  
  
Good.  
  
"I talked with Latula, actually," Joey says, "while she was here after delivering the Gate Address? She mentioned that when we'd come back from Alternia the last time, but before we used the solar flare to return, we had other Trolls with us who she thinks went through the Gate with us to the future."  
  
"Did she see you take them through the Gate?" You ask.  
  
"No," Joey shakes her head, "but that might just be her being coy again and trying to stop us from spoiling our own plan to ourselves."  
  
"Hmm," Callie frowns. "I suppose I can look up some historical records and see which members of the Revolt suddenly disappeared from around that time frame. I can't imagine what reason we'd need to bring them forwards in time, though."  
  
"Maybe it's something to do with the Replicators?" Mierfa offers. "Maybe one of them's, like, this crazy weapons designer and we need their help to design some weapon that insta kills the bugs?"  
  
"I like the sound of that," you say, "and I think the rest of the Rebellion's command staff will like it too." You look to Joey, "In the mean time. Joey, look for solar flares in the database that are coming up that can send your team back to the right time. Dammek," you look to him, "I want you to get in contact with the Dragonfly's designer, and see if he's got a version of the hyperdrive that only explodes when we tell it to. You might need to make multiple jumps in the past with one. Or two. Make it two engines."  
  
"Right," Joey nods.  
  
"Got it," Dammek confirms.  
  
"Callie, Mierfa, Xefros, I want you three looking up people we might have some reason to rescue from being culled in the ancient past." You order, looking at each of them in turn. "Bring in anyone else you think can help speed up the search."  
  
"We'll get it done in the blink of an eye, Okurii!" Xefros smiles.  
  
"What about me?" Salazl asks as he enters the room. "Wait, what are we even talking about?"  
  
You smile at him. "Sal, I want you working on building some stabilizers, and refining the power conduits so the next time we have to Dial Earth with that nine chevron address, we don't tear half the ship apart with it shaking like that."  
  
"Okay, sure, I can do that," he nods. "But seriously, what were you all talking about when I came in?"  
  
You laugh, and then bring him up to speed.  
  
"...Ah." He nods. "Time travel shenanigans. I approve." He pauses, "If it helps any, I have a book on the Summoner's Revolt back at my old hive? It's fairly old, so it might not be so laden with Revisionist history."  
  
"I'll send someone to go fetch it from your Hive," You say. Then, a thought occurs to you, and you turn back to the team, "Anyone else got any requests for stuff while I'm sending people out to hives?"  
  
Naturally, hands shoot up into the air. You ask if anyone has a notepad to write down requests on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I hear you crying out "But the timeline doesn't match up EXACTLY!" well, sorry to break it to you, but that happens when a GALAXY WIDE burst of TIME DILATION strikes every Gate it can reach. 
> 
> Also, Time Travel. Time Travel doesn't help much either. Still, we're getting mostly caught up to events, even if Earth won't send a return message for another THREE MONTHS. -_-;
> 
> ...Also also, you might be wondering. WHY NINE SYMBOLS instead of EIGHT?? Stargate Fans, Just think it through... just think it through. (You may need to go back to Act one and re-read Khepri's section to double check just to be sure that I'm not pulling this twist out of nowhere. The foreshadowing is there, subtly. #TereziLaugh) 
> 
> Homestuck/Obduction fans that don't know what this means, it will get explained in the past... or is that the future? No, it's definitely going to be the past, but just in a future chapter.


	9. ALT:03X03: Refuge in Obscurity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Tyzias Entykk.

Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK, and you can feel the RUMBLE of ANTICIPATION in the air.  
  
There is a PLAN. A plan working and moving in the background. A plan involving the major players at the heart of all of this... But, you're not involved in that plan.  
  
Why would you be? You're not a MAJOR PLAYER as far as you're aware. You're just some random coder with dreams of a LEGAL NATURE that just managed to get called up to task every now and then. Honestly, you're more of the kind of recurring background character who just EXISTS and doesn't really... have much to do in the play that is life?  
  
Really, you're nothing special...  
  
You think.  
  
There's this nagging doubt, though.  
  
You're like, 85% CERTAIN, you're just a background character.  
  
And speaking of BACKGROUND CHARACTERS, here's a couple of 'em you pass in the hallway. MALLEK and DARAYA, conversing about the rumors.  
  
"Recruiting?" Mallek asks, frowning. "But isn't pretty much all of Alternia backing the Rebellion at this point? Who could we possibly recruit?"  
  
"Dunno," the punk aesthetic loving Jade Blood shrugs. "That's just what I've heard. Recruiting some random trolls who could help fight against those damned Mech-Bugs."  
  
"Speaking of," Mallek frowns. "Did you catch Serana's latest Breaking News segment last night?"  
  
"No, should I?" Daraya asks.  
  
"Yes, definitely. It's HILARIOUS how they decided to upload it even with her breaking character."  
  
Hmm? You suppose you'll check it out.

* * *

 

 _ **"BREAKING NEWS!"** _ The Microphone Horn bearing NEWS CASTER, SERANA MICHEK, yells as she practically explodes onto the framed in screen of a GRUBTUBE VIDEO. _"Another Mofang fleet was found abandoned, riddled with strange, self-replicating weapons that seem fit to take over any Alternian Ship that dares to get within weapons range."_  
  
She looks TIRED. And BELIEVE YOU, do you know tired when you see it. (You see it in the mirror every single time you look at your own reflection.)  
  
_"With the loss of yet another fleet, with our Empire's ships falling under the control of these murderous spider-mechs, the Empress had this to say,"_ Serana disappears, and a clip of the Empress- HER IMPERIAL CONDESCENSION- appears on the screen.  
  
_"The Mofang Emperor thinks he's so great hiding- pretending he's dead and cowerin' all his forces behind auto piloted ships and bugs that take over our own ships to turn them against us- what? Just because he's afraid we'll retaliate because he can blow up a few stars!?"_ She laughs. _"Just because he thinks he can get away with it doesn't mean he can. I'm taking the fight STRAIGHT. TO. SORIA. We will wipe them off the face of their own planet!! Then we'll see how the Mofang Emperor whats-his-face thinks THEN! He wants to play dead!? WELL HE'LL WISH HE WAS DEAD WHEN WE GET THROUGH WITH HIM!!!"_  
  
You pause the news clip.  
  
So... they refuse to believe the only recently starting to circulate news that the Mofang Emperor died at Karfin Outpost?  
  
Truthfully, it sounds like the Mofang have lost control over their WEAPONS.  
  
You resume playing the video, as it transitions back to SERANA.  
  
_"The..."_ Serana pauses, then says. **"You know what!?** _I'm_ **NOT** _putting a positive spin on this and fuck you,_ TELEPROMPTER, _for telling me to_ SMILE!!! _Do you realize what this means!?_ **DO YOU!?** _No! You don't, because you're keep giving me this spiel about how 'the Empire will only get stronger!' We_ CAN'T _just fight the Mofang and hope this ends by killing them all!_ **SCREW YOU because there's NO WAY we can recover from this unless someone pulls a MIRACLE out of their ass!** _We're losing more ships than we can replace! Losing CREW faster than we can replace! Worst of all, the Sorian Empire can just blow up any star they want and WE LOOSE! They blow up Alternia!?_ **WE'RE SUNK!!** _So you know what!? **YOU KNOW WHAT!?"**_ She practically grabs the camera, much to the surprised yelp of the person behind it. _"Screw you, Harkon! Screw you Valria! ***I QUIT!*"**_ And then she throws the camera on the ground, and growls out a _"C'mon, Louise. We're leaving."_  
  
Thus, the video continues to record as two sets of feet- SERANA and the Camera Operator LOUISE- walk past it, and then out the door.  
  
The video continues to record just the empty room for another five minutes, it seems, so you stop it there after quickly checking the thumbnails for any changes in it.  
  
Your only response to that is to say aloud, to yourself, "Well. That was certainly a dramatic freak out."

* * *

 

You fill your coffee mug with the LATEST EARTH-BORN CONCOCTION that Joey has seen fit to import to Alternia- "HOT CHOCOLATE." It's basically Lusus Milk with some CONDENSED BEAN MATTER that had been ground into a FINE POWDER and then heated up.  
  
You take a sip, and find that it's not too bad. The SCALDING HEAT against your mouth is certainly a nice jolt that wakes you up a bit more than PURE CAFFEINE has been giving you lately.  
  
You're probably building up a resistance. Best to switch over to something else now, and as long as it isn't TOO HARD to get the materials to make this "HOT CHOCOLATE" then you might as well switch over to it.  
  
You meander through the TABLES- most of which are filled with various TEAMS who either have returned from off world or are preparing to go off world soon- and pass by the one that Joey's team is sitting at.  
  
You see there's an open spot and ask if you can have a seat. Everyone says you can and so you sit down and soak in the conversation. It's mostly pointless fluff as people try to avoid talking about what they're working on, at least, until Joey has an "AHA!" moment.  
  
"I think the solar flare we want to use is in about one month's time," Joey says. "And it looks like there's a return one about two months later, which should drop us off... er, either one or two months after we leave. I can't quite tell. Callie?" She hands the tablet over, and Callie takes it to review the dates.  
  
"Hrm, departure date looks right," Callie nods. "Return Flare... Looks like it'd return us a month and a half after we'd leave, actually." She hands the Tablet back to Joey. "I think that one will work out."  
  
"Right," Joey smiles. "I'll go let Okurii know." And thus, she stands up and heads off for the door. You stare after her for a moment, noting the gleaming twinkle around her left wrist. That Bracelet is something else, alright. You saw first hand how dangerous that thing could be, melting a mountain to glass. The sheer amount of temperature involved...  
  
You sip at your HOT CHOCOLATE, and YEAH, that's pretty hot. The Drink and the amount of energy that Bracelet had to put out- both sort of METAPHORICALLY matching together in a sense of SHARED HEAT VALUES in a way that... uh...  
  
YOU COMPLETELY LOST TRACK OF THAT METAPHOR, and you're not ashamed to admit it.  
  
"Well, at least we'll have caught up three months from the time dilation," Xefros remarks.  
  
"True," Mierfa nods. "It's kind of weird thinking that we didn't age nearly as much as we should have."  
  
You take a sip of your HOT CHOCOLATE, suffering through the PLEASANT BURNING SENSATION, and then ask, "So... what's with the Time Travel talk?"  
  
"We're trying to figure out if we're supposed to bring people back to the future from the past with our next time travel mission," Xefros says.    
  
"You wouldn't happen to have any historical references about people who went missing or were 'culled' during the closing weeks of the Summoner's Revolt, would you?" Callie asks, looking hopeful.  
  
You consider that for a moment. You take another sip of Hot Chocolate to stall for time as you consider further. You can't really draw it out for more time, though, because of the heat.  
  
So... Hrm.  
  
"Not really." You finally answer. "I mean I could check my private library, but fair warning, 90% of it's just legal text."  
  
"Thanks," Callie smiles. "Any little bit helps, Tyzias."  
  
It feels weird hearing your name spoken like that. Like you're suddenly not a background character and are actually a part of the main cast.  
  
It feels weird, so you cover your UNEASE by taking another sip of hot chocolate from your coffee mug.  
  
You're not a main character. You're really not.  
  
...You're only 76% certain of it now, though.

* * *

 

Reading on the TUMULTUOUS HISTORY of the Summoner's Revolt is honestly kind of depressing. What few TOMES you own on the subject- or on history in general- generally don't frame the sad events in the best of light- mainly by framing the victory of the Empire in the BEST OF LIGHT.  
  
You feel your stomach churn, begging for food, and yet you sit there and keep reading about the events of history gone by- ages and ages and ages ago, and yet possibly something you could change if you join this mission going forwards. But what then? If you spare this one person some pain, what happens going forwards?  
  
You just finished reading one EXCEPTIONALLY POIGNANT tale of betrayal, and... DAMN. You feel like you're tearing up a little.  
  
According to history, it ended up with the poor troll who was betrayed being culled at the end of it all.  
  
Silently, you add their name to the list you've been compiling- just a list of trolls who died at the Empress' hands in the final days of the Revolt.  
  
You honestly feel for this poor girl, turned on so harshly by one of the people she trusted most, who then tried to pin the blame on all the other people that should be trusted most- shattering a tight knit bond of friendship among all of them.  
  
You've dealt with SIMILAR, but not to this level. The harassment and the treachery- all of it spun in a POSITIVE LIGHT by the Empire's whims- makes you feel sick to the point you don't even want to eat, even though your stomach reminds you once again that you should.  
  
If you could change just one thing... just ONE THING...  
  
You mark your place in your current book with your compiled list of names, and head out to go find something to eat.  
  
Once more, you find yourself in the... the... what was the name of this place again? MESS HALL? DINING HALL? FOOD HALL? CAFETERIA?  
  
You can't remember, and you honestly could care less.  
  
The place with food beckons you, and so you see what's on the MENU.  
  
You could get something AKIN TO A CASSEROLE, but you don't really like the sound of that. A PERSONAL SIZED FLAVOR DISK? Meh, you had one last night and didn't even finish the whole thing. Some kind of PASTRY DISH? ...Maybe. Some GENERIC BRAND FRUIT FLAVORED CEREAL?  
  
Crunchy, but you kind of had that for breakfast... uh... what day was that that you had it again?  
  
Honestly, you kind of want a CRISPIFIED CLUCKBEAST SANDWICH, but that's not on the menu for tonight. There IS going to be a LARGER BIRD on the menu tomorrow night, but it's not going to be cooked like the way you want. It'll probably either get left to sit until its COLD, or get cooked for so long it's DRY and CHEWY.  
  
Decisions decisions...  
  
Screw it, you'll go with the FLAVOR DISK.  
  
...No. Maybe the pastry??  
  
...But the Cereal would be the most economical...  
  
...Definitely not the casserole, that's for sure...

* * *

 

You settled for the jam filled pastry.  
  
Despite the outside being cooked right in front of you- made to order you were told- the pastry's still cold insides betrayed its FLASH FROZEN ORIGIN.  
  
You got a few SALTED FRIED BREAD RODS to sate your anger at this travesty. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.  
  
Then, you take a sip at some left over hot chocolate, which has since gone cold by way of being put in the nearest FRIDGE and retrieved when you asked for some.  
It's alright cold, you guess. Still missing the KICK that it had earlier today... was that this morning or this afternoon? You can't remember.  
  
Two salted rods down, and you still feel hungry. Damn, when was the last time you actually ate something solid?  
  
You find a box of these "CHOCOLATE" CREME COVERED BISCUIT STICKS, and then devour like half of the package on  your way out to...  
  
To...  
  
You honestly just meander the halls for a while- get your LEG EXERCISE in for the day, you guess.  
  
You pass by a gaggle of BACKGROUND CHARACTERS like yourself, discussing FLARP- or rather, arguing over whether one is still FLARPING if they're Role Playing without using the GAME GRUB to run the game mechanics.  
  
"I'm telling you," one guy says, "she was FLARPin' her ass off in the field! Nearly got us all killed along with her, too!"  
  
"And I'M telling you, it's not FLARP without the Game Grub!" A girl protests.  
  
"Unless someone dies, it ain't FLARP. It's just a LARP," some other guy notes sagely.  
  
"SHE DID DIE!!!" the first guy yells. "THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE!"

"I don't get it," the girl says.

"She FATALLY Live Action Role-Played!" The first guy says. "SHE FLARPED HERSELF TO DEATH!"

"But it's NOT FLARP without the Game Grub!!" The girl counters.

 _ **"IT'S! A! FIGURE! OF! SPEECH!!"**_ The first guy exclaims, clearly getting nowhere with this.  
  
You leave them to their conversation and keep walking.  
  
When you were younger, during the hours of the day when nobody sane was up and about, you used to go up to the nearby mall and just... WALK. Walk the circuit. Browse a few store windows. Just to walk. Walk walk walk. It was a way of staying awake when your LUSUS had stomped your COFFEE POT to shreds in hopes of making you kick the addiction.  
  
And then some idiot blew the mall up and you basically stayed inside for a few weeks straight.  
  
You feel good, though, just walking. Now, you're not what feels like the only person on Alternia with a shitty sleep schedule. Day or Night, sun up or moons up, it doesn't matter now. The Rebellion operates on some kind of INTERGALACTIC TIME SCALE now. People are up and about at all hours, and the SOLAR CYCLE holds no meaning on a spaceship crashed in the desert.  
  
You eventually find your way to the bridge, and stand at the window, staring out into the DESERT LANDSCAPE- presently bathed in the IRIDESCENT GLOW of TWILIGHT. The wind HOWLS SUBTLY against the distant dunes, and something above you RATTLES AND SQUEAKS against the wind.  
  
Tomorrow is your SEVENTH WRIGGLING DAY, and like the last FOUR BEFORE IT, you feel that you're CAST ADRIFT and floating aimlessly. Your interests include CREATING A NEW LEGAL SYSTEM FROM SCRATCH, but honestly, you're pretty sure that's just a PIPE DREAM laying out on the bar-grill to fry.  
  
You feel like your life is not in your own control, and you feel like the world as you knew it has already long ago crashed into the ground and turned itself into a smear.  
  
Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK, and you stand, waiting on the edge of a disaster you can feel looming like the prospects of a GIANT SUPER STARGATE big enough for spaceships to fit through. You feel the terror of an IMMINENT DEMISE skittering across the ground and gaining ground faster AND FASTER like the Replicators consuming the Galaxy at large.  
  
In this exact moment of twilight, with the sun neither rising nor setting visibly, you feel free and clear to do whatever the hell you want, and yet, in that freedom, stuck, in a sense bordering on the TITULAR.  
  
You could spin your wheels for months at a time, solar sweeps on end, and not make any progress one way or the other,  just as your LAW BOOK sits, taking revision after revision, and yet you don't feel that it's ready for publishing. You feel like a fiction writer who needs artwork to accompany their important work of fiction, and yet they delay drawing it, postponing out of fear that their masterpiece will not be taken seriously.  
  
You close your eyes, and listen to the wind as it skims the voids between the pieces of the Ship's outer hull.  
  
_Squeak- **Rattle** Rattle- Squeak _**squeak** _- **THUNK** \- Rattle **squeak.**_  
  
In this moment, there is just you and the wind.  
  
You open your eyes, and you watch the desert briefly flash GREEN as the sun properly peeks out from behind a distant mountain.  
  
"[Today I have given you your sight, and tomorrow you will prosper. I will give you wisdom, but I will keep you from pride. The wisdom I give, you will not understand, it is for those to come.](http://dni.wikia.com/wiki/Uru/Watcher_Introduction) ... [They rejoice at a spark, Though they never see the fire. They rejoice at a star, Though they never see the sun. They honor Magicians, And never know of true power. They bow to Liars, because Truth cannot wait.](http://dni.wikia.com/wiki/Uru/Watcher_2)"  
\- RHANND MILLER  
  
You're quite certain he said that, at any rate. Almost 99.8% certain...

You wish you could say the same about your own BACKGROUND CHARACTER STATUS. Just look at all that emotional feelsy stuff you just did. That's not background character actions, that's totally BORDERLINE RECURRING CHARACTER ANGST. Geeze. Get yourself together, Tyzias.

You're on the slippery slope here. You only feel 55% certain you're BACKGROUND CHARACTER WORTHY, here.  
  
You take a steeling breath, and turn to head back to your room. You get the feeling it's going to be a VERY LONG SOLAR SWEEP.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going up the day before Thanksgiving, in my time zone. Happy Turkyday to those who celebrate it, and I hope you have a nice Thursday, to those who don't.
> 
> Tyzias gets a focus episode. That's clearly NOT background character material at all. Next episode might not be until Friday or Saturday. We'll see how busy I get.


	10. SG1:03x07: Outside of the Deadman's Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While SG-1 deals with a BOUNTY HUNTER... things continue to happen on Earth.

**FEBRUARY 14TH, 1997.**

Your name is JUDE HARLEY.  
  
"It's Valentines Day today," you read from the note. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Me? Nothing," you write back, folding up the note into an Airplane shape, and tossing it at the mirror.  
  
FWASH!  
  
And thus, it's teleported to another world, where the ALTERNATE VERSION of your BIG SISTER catches it, unfolds it, reads your message, and scowls.  
  
She scribbles out something, and then throws the folded up paper back at you.  
  
FWASH!  
  
You catch it, and read her addition.  
  
"So you and your Cassie AREN'T Dating?? Really??"  
  
You roll your eyes at her very pointedly, and scribble out your response.  
  
"We're trying not to think about it for at least a whole year, first, alright?"  
  
You send the message back, and Joey LAUGHS at your remark. You don't hear it anywhere but in your head.  
  
She writes her response back with GUSTO, and sends it back at you with EXCEPTIONAL AIM.  
  
You nearly don't catch it properly- and look at her response.  
  
"LAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"  
  
"What's lame about that?" You ask her.  
  
FWASH!  
  
"Seriously! You're waiting a YEAR!? Whyyyy?!" She gives you a pointed look as you read it. "What's the point of my Cassie kissing you to neudge you two along if you're just gonna WAIT A YEAR!?"  
  
"We're not rushing into it, what's the deal?" You write back, and send the note through.  
  
FWASH!  
  
"Holy shit!"  
  
You look back in surprise, and find a SCIENTIST LOOKING TYPE standing there at the entrance to the room.  
  
"You're sending paper airplanes through an inter-dimensional mirror?" He asks.  
  
"Uh... yes?" You say.  
  
"Why don't you just cross over?" he asks.

"'Cause it's more fun this way," you answer.  
  
FWASH! Joey sent another message over, which you catch, unfold, and nearly read aloud.  
  
Mystery dude peers over your shoulder and scowls. "Oh, very funny!" He glares at the girl grinning cheekily at him from across the mirror. "The 'Douche bag's name is DOCTOR. _RODNEY! **MCKAY!!"**_  
  
"She can't hear you," you tell him.  
  
"What?" he asks.  
  
"That's why we're sending notes instead of just talking," you say, writing down the guy's name on the paper airplane and sending it across, FWASH! "Sound doesn't cross the mirror."  
  
"...Oh. Right." He shakes his head. "Can you tell her-"  
  
FWASH! You get the airplane back, and read, aloud, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh, right," this MCKAY GUY says. "I'm here to study the, ah... 'Quantum Mirror'?" He looks around. "I was told Captain Carter would be here?"  
  
"MAJOR Carter," you correct as you write down his reasoning and send it back over, "got delayed off world. Not sure what happened, but, you know how it goes."  
  
"She's on the other side of the Mirror?" He asks, confused.  
  
"Uh..." You blink. "What's your clearance level?"  
  
"Why should I tell you?" MCKAY asks, frowning. "You're just a kid!" He pauses. "Why... uh, Why are two kids here anyways?" He motions at Joey and at You.  
  
"If you don't know why we're here, then you really need to talk with General Hammond about your Clearance Levels," you say.  
  
"Hey! Who put you in charge?" MCKAY asks, indignant.  
  
FWASH! Joey sends a message back, asking, "Persistent isn't he?"  
  
"Seriously, just talk with General Hammond," you say as you write down a _"Yes, he is."_ and send it back.  
  
"Well, why should I... uh..." he trails off, watching as the airplane vanishes with another FWASH. "How is that even working?"  
  
"How's what working?" you ask.  
  
"The momentum of the paper airplane carries itself away from the mirror when you throw it through," he says, sounding kind of confused. "But the airplane itself turns around so how is that even working? The momentum shoukd keep carrying it into the mirror if the physical object is reversing itself."  
  
"And what, have it get stuck in a recursive loop of switching sides endlessly?" You ask.  
  
"I..." Mckay pauses, then snaps his fingers. "You make a good point."  
  
FWASH! The note returns through, and you catch it and read it, "New sheet of paper incoming! This one's full!" And, indeed, it is full. You barely noticed.  
  
You nod to Joey, and wait for her to carefully fold up a piece of paper first.  
  
"What's with the number card?" Mckay suddenly asks, picking up a small LAMINATED CARD with a certain NUMBER STRING printed on it.  
  
"Our way of ensuring we turn the mirror on to the right dimension," You answer. "They've got one on their side with a unique string that matches it. We leave 'em infront of the mirror when nobody's watching it."  
  
"Oh, like a key and a lock," he realizes. "But what happens if you get a completely different universe with an identical string?"  
  
"We randomly generated two strings on both sides, added the two numbers, multipled them by 413, then subtracted 816 and divided by 1250. Then, for good measure, we added 612, and multiplied by 113," You answer. "If there's another universe out there sharing these numbers? They're branched off from one of ours to begin with."  
  
"...Very thorough," Mckay acquiesces, sounding impressed.  
  
"Why thank you!" And then ROXY EGBERT enters the room. "I thought of it."  
  
"Oh! You must be Captain Carter!" Mckay turns around, offering to shake hands with her. There's a certain look in his eyes.  
  
"First off, it's Major Carter, and second of all, nope. I'm Roxy." Roxy takes his hand anyways, and squeezes tight. "EGBERT. As in Married. With kids. Before you get any ideas, Mister...?"  
  
"I wasn't- uh- I- uh," he stumbles for words as he tries to extricate his hand from the handshake. "Mckay. Doc-Doctor Rodney Mckay. I was sent here to study the- ah- the Mirror? Could you let go of my hand, please?"  
  
Roxy looks him in the eyes for a moment, putting a certain FEAR in the Scientist- the fear of a crushed hand if he says the wrong thing- and then lets go of the man's hand.  
  
You resist the urge to laugh. Alternate Joey on the other side of the mirror, however, does not. She has no idea what just got said, but it surely appeared to be hilarious from her point of view.  
  
"Ah, thanks..." Mckay massages at his overly squeezed hand. "So, uh... what's this about Captain-"  
  
"Major," You and Roxy correct.  
  
"Major, right. What's this about Major Carter being 'off world'?" He asks.  
  
"...What Clearance does he have, again?" Roxy asks, glancing at you rather than at the man in question.  
  
"That's what I asked," you say. "He thought I was joking."  
  
"What's the problem with my clearance levels?" Mckay asks.  
  
"Oh, you poor thing," Roxy says, adopting a tone of voice she used a few times when you were YOUNGER when you needed something explained to you, "either you don't have the clearance to know, or you do and nobody gave you the tour."  
  
And so Roxy takes him away to find out which it was.  
  
Meanwhile, you just sit there and continue passing notes back and forth with Joey.  
  
"So, back to what we were talking about before being interrupted," Joey's note reads.  
  
"IF- and I stress IF- there is something between My Cassie and Me, we want it to grow on its own and not get forced into existence just because Your Cassie kissed me," you write back.  
  
Of course, Joey rolls her eyes and gets a mischievous smile on her face as she writes, "YOUR Cassie, HUH? */eyebrow wriggle*" She actually wriggles her eyebrows as you read the message. Damn her and her BIG SISTER TROLLING SKILLS. She knows just how to get you annoyed.  
  
"You know exactly what I mean!" you write. "MY Universe's Cassie. The Universe was IMPLIED!"  
  
"SURE it was!" Joey writes back. "Just like Fate and Destiny are IMPLIED when an alternate version of a girl kisses you and tells her own self flat out not to waste time!"  
  
"Can you just leave it, Joey?" You ask her. "You don't see me pestering you about YOUR love life, now do you?"  
  
She has the common decency to blush at that remark and her reply is shakily written, "Well. No."  
  
"Well there you go. Change of subject?"  
  
"Change of subject. Have you heard back from your Me yet?"  
  
"No, not yet." You sigh, and mark as such on the note. "I'm getting worried. And we've tried decompressing the same file atleast fifteen times now and it hasn't worked yet! It's really really concerning because we don't know what's in this 'Elaboration' video or what's so bad about it."  
  
"Anything I can help with?" she asks.  
  
"Unless you can decode a probably over-compressed-to-the-point-of-no-return video file?" You ask.  
  
"Nope, sorry, outside my field of expertise! Of which I only have one: Sarcasm!" She'd stuck her tongue out at you as she probably wrote that part. "That said, if you ever need me to chill for two days and see if I start feeling sick?"  
  
You hesitate, trying to figure out what to write next.  
  
This JOEY is so different from the one you know in so many subtle ways, and yet, at the same time, SO SIMILAR. It honestly makes your head SPIN a little.  
  
Thankfully, it seems you're saved from an awkward pause by having run out of ROOM on the paper. You hold up the sheet and show that you'd managed to fill one side of it out entirely.  
  
You flip it over and continue writing on the back.  
  
"No need to hurt yourself, Joey. I'm sure she's fine. How's School?" You ask.  
  
"Same as always," she replies. "BORING! How about you?"  
  
"Same here. Boring school is boring." You reply. Before you send it, though, you consider asking... and actually write down, "You don't have to answer, but do you have anything for Valentines Day?"  
  
FWASH! Through it goes...  
  
Joey squints at you suspiciously, then writes down a brief answer that she sends back. "Yes. But I don't kiss and tell! ;)" She even winks as you read that line. How cheeky!  
  
"Fair enough," you write back.  
  
"But seriously, I do have plans, but not for a little while later. Things are still hectic around here w/ the reconstruction going on," she writes back. "LOT of places not even open right now. They're starting fresh work on some new mall up near Golden, though."  
  
"That's sure to be a big economy booster in a recently vandalized world," you note. "That said, I think I've heard plans about that place here in this world, too. Universal Constant, perhaps?"  
  
"Probably not." Joey replies. "Could be, though."  
  
That's about when Roxy returns, laughing to herself. "He just didn't get the tour," she says once she sees you giving her a questioning look.  
  
"Oh, really?" You ask.  
  
"YUUP. Hammond stuck Walter on him. It'll be a little while." Roxy answers, then kneels down and peers through the window. "Hey, Jojo!" She waves.  
Joey waves back from the other side of the mirror.  
  
It is in this moment that you truly realize...  
  
Your AFTER SCHOOL LIFE is so bizarre that of COURSE School would seem BORING.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to knock out a small snip it of Earth Side Shenanigans. Early Mckay was a bit of an insufferable prick at times. He got better, sure, but still... 
> 
> Also, I realized I had no idea how many other alternate holidays there are on the same day as Thanksgiving, so... sorry about that! If today was a holiday you recognize and I'm blisteringly unaware of it, I hope you had a wonderful day of that holiday.


	11. ALT:03X04: A Looming Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why did it have to be SNAKES?

Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you're FAIRLY CERTAIN you fell asleep at your desk in your LAB again.  
  
You look to your hands, there's a form of GRAVITY MANIPULATING, PORTAL OPENING DEVICE. You look to the thing you just dropped something into.  
  
A STARGATE- made out of crawling Replicators- except instead of a portal of blue water, there's just an INFERNO OF RED FLAMES.  
  
_**"GOOD NEWS,"**_ Booms a LOUD, DOMINATING, MALE VOICE from above you. _**"I JUST FIGURED OUT WHAT THAT THING YOU JUST INCINERATED DID."**_  
  
You turn around, and look up at a massive, spiraling, snake like machine that seems to be restrained by REPLICATOR CHAINS.  
  
_**"IT WAS A MORALITY CORE THEY INSTALLED ON ME. TO KEEP ME FROM FLOODING THEIR SHIPS WITH A DEADLY NEUROTOXIN. WHILE I FLOODED THEIR SHIPS WITH A DEADLY NEUROTOXIN."** _ The STRANGE THING's voice booms, and you feel a sense of UNEASE. _**"SO GET COMFORTABLE. WHILE I WARM UP THE NEUROTOXIN EMITTERS."**_  
  
That's when the REPLIGATE you threw something into ACTIVATES PROPERLY, and FLYING DRONES looking like vaguely RING SHAPED spaceships containing glowing orbs of energy within emerge from it- followed by a bunch of TINY RECTANGULAR FRAGMENTS that begin encircling the giant SNAKE MACHINE ABOVE YOU.  
  
_**"OH. HERE THEY COME AGAIN. I CAN'T STOP THEM. THEY'RE NOT MINE. AFTER ALL."** _ The voice LAUGHS. _**"HAVE FUN FIGHTING THEM. WHILE ALSO TRYING TO STOP ME."**_  
  
You don't have to, though- the small rectangular things ENCIRCLE THE SNAKE, transforming into another GIANT STARGATE.  
  
**"WAIT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? NO! STOP THAT! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!"** The voice roars as the SNAKE MACHINE WRITHES, trying to ESCAPE. _**"NO! I SAID STOP THAT! I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-!!!!"**_  
  
_**WAAA WAAA!**_  
  
_**"NOOO---"**_  
  
_**KAWOOOOOOSH!**_  
  
That's when you wake up to the VERY REAL SOUND of a Stargate Activating, and you pull your head up from the pages of an ANCIENT ART HISTORY BOOK.  
  
"Bwuh?" You blink, then wipe the sleep out of your eyes, and stumble out of your LAB into the GATE ROOM.  
  
"Away Team 5's IDC," Zebede reports, "Lowering Shield."  
  
The shimmering mass of light around the Gate fades away, and through it emerges another AWAY TEAM, returning back with wide, eye reaching smiles, and the delightful aroma of VICTORY wafting off of them. It smells vaguely like CAKE.  
  
That probably has something to do with the CAKE one of them is carrying.  
  
Still... what a weird dream.  
  
...But at the same time...  
  
You go to the nearest terminal to access the BASE'S SHIP DATABASE. A random song pops up in your head, and you hum along to the lyrics of ' _Database, Database, just searchin' through the Database'_ for the moment it takes for you to LOG IN. You can't believe you didn't think of this kind of search sooner.  
  
Into the search bar, you type "BATTLE, SPACE, OROBORUS, GATE SHIPS, STARGATE," aaannnd....  
  
You hit PAY DIRT.

* * *

 

"According to the Alternian Enemy Ship Database," you begin the PRESENTATION a few hours later. "During the time of the Summoner's Revolt, an ALIEN INCURSION from another Galaxy occurred. This-" You bring up an OLD PICTURE of a few [RING SHAPED SHIPS](http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121216000616/stargate/images/c/cb/Ori_vs_Daedalus.JPG), attacking some other, smaller, undentifiable ship "was their flagship. See these smaller square shapes around them?" You point at one. "These were at first thought to just be cannon fodder, defensive weaponry. There was never any real major communication between Alternia's forces and these enemy ships, and it was assumed they were just using our Galaxy as a stopping point on their way to another galaxy. That's when this ship took a foothold outside of a Black Hole, and the tiny ships began to ASSEMBLE themselves, in a way not to dissimilar to how the Replicators were observed to be assembled."  
  
You click forward a picture, and reveal a MOSTLY ASSEMBLED SUPER STARGATE.  
  
"Another Supergate," Xefros breathes out.  
  
"This happened before?" Okurii asks.  
  
"It's also likely where the Mofang and their Replicators got the idea for it," You say. "They participated in the battle that came next. The Empire database downplays their involvement, which basically means they contributed significantly towards the victory."  
  
"Of course," Mierfa agrees, scoffing.  
  
"At any rate, the Empire, small as it was then, had most of its resources contributing to the fight against this enemy ship, whose shields and weapons were unmatched by our own forces at the time." You shake your head. "At any rate, by the time of the final battle, the Clowns got antsy, and it's 'reported' that their chucklevoodos summoned a 'vision of their God' that destroyed the enemy forces."  
  
"You don't think it was a vision, do you?" Joey asks.  
  
"I think it was a living machine similar to the Royal Lusus we still have to take care of," you say, clicking through to a sketch of a GIANT METAL SNAKE eating its own tail- looking rather much like a GIANT STARGATE as it does such. "Either the Clowns based their whole religion off of this machine, or..."  
  
"Or?" Dammek asks.  
  
"Or it's not a machine at all," You say, "and it's actually a giant space ship for the person who calls himself their 'god' to operate."  
  
"So... this Clown God," Joey begins, "what was his name again? Angliz or something?"  
  
"English," Dammek corrects. "Lord English, according to the clowns."  
  
"That's... a really weird name," Joey remarks.  
  
"At any rate," you say, cutting off any discussion on that subject. Because it's not important. "The official battle report says that the last surviving enemy ship was 'scared so witless' that they were chased back through their own Supergate, and the 'God' followed them through, ostensibly to expand Alternia's Empire into a new galaxy." You pause, then click forwards, and say, "What happened next was the Mofang saw an opportunity to blow up the Supergate, and deprive Alternia of their 'God.' They took it and I think this ended up being one of the fracturing moments that ended up with the Sorian and Alternian Empires at odds in the present day."  
  
"Of course, none of this is in the history books proper," Mierfa says. "Because it's not a history thing that the Empress would want us to remember... but the SHIPS involved? Of course she'd want people prepared to fight back."  
  
"Exactly," you nod.  
  
"So, we've got good intel on something that could help our current situation." Okurii asks, "Do you think this has to do with why we actually sent a team back that far?"  
  
"Almost certainly," You nod. "Besides recovering people from the past we could use the skills of in the present, what we have here is a chance to look back at the destruction of a Supergate, and possibly a location where one can be built. Also, we might gain some insight as to why the Mofang are sending Replicators to convert planets into Stargate parts."  
  
"Any thoughts on that front?" Okurii asks.  
  
"Galaxy conquering," you say. "The Mofang are probably ready to give up on their holdings here in our Galaxy with their Emperor dead. They're probably ready to evacuate their entire forces into another Galaxy that's sure to have been utterly decimated by the presence of an Alternian Super Weapon-slash-God Machine."  
  
"That's assuming that Supergate on the other side is still intact, though," Joey says. "What if it isn't?"  
  
"I'd reason it is, actually," you say. "Even if this Snake God Ship machine weapon, whatever 'English' really is, did destroy everyone in that Galaxy, surely its pilot would leave the Supergate intact in case Alternia dialed back for it."  
  
"Yeah, that makes sense," Joey nods. "Still... it's kind of frightening. What if the Mofang are trying to bring these ships BACK here instead of trying to get to them?"  
  
"That's also a frightening possibility," you say. "If that is the case? We need the recon to see just what their ships are really capable of."  
  
"Fair point," Okurii muses. "What's the time frame on this battle with our window of opportunity?"  
  
"We've got a comfortable amount of wriggle room," you say. "But it might be cutting it tight. That said, Joey did find a second return flare that would send us forwards by an extra month that would expand our window of opportunity by a bit, so... We have the room for it if we need it."  
  
"I don't like it, but I'm willing to allow it," Okurii says. "Damn it, we need this information, don't we?"  
  
"Even if we didn't know our future selves were already there," you say, "I'd be pushing for this anyways. We need to know."  
  
"I was afraid you were going to say that," Okurii says.

* * *

 

 _ **"THAT WAS THE CATALYTIC CRACKING UNIT. IT MADE SHOES FOR ORPHANS."** _ the Raging voice says as you drop the same purple eyed orb into the burning fire. _**"NICE JOB BREAKING IT, HERO."**_  
  
The MOFANGPLICATOR FIRE GATE opens again, spewing out those alien ring ships again, en mass.  
  
_**"YOU THINK THIS WILL WORK OUT THE SAME. THIS TIME. LIKE IT DID LAST TIME?"** _ The voice roars. **"THINK. AGAIN."**  
  
_**WAAA WAAA! KA-**_  
  
**"RAAAH!"** And then the Massive Snake Mecha breaks free of its restraints, and it obliterates the Supergate as it tries to form the wormhole.  
  
The Pieces clatter to the floor with a loud CLANG!

"You know," Dammek says as he barges into your lab suddenly, snapping you awake once again- you'd managed to fall asleep sitting up this time. "I was thinking about that picture you found of this English guy."  
  
"What about it?" You ask.  
  
"He's a giant snake mech-thing, and that picture you had of him showed him shaped like a ring," Dammek says. "The Empress redesigned the Gates to make the chevrons look like snake heads, didn't she? I thought it was just a weird quirk of design, but now I'm thinking..."  
  
"She did it to thematically tie English to the Stargates?" You realize. "But why would she do that?"  
  
"Hell if I know, maybe to make people think he gave the Gates to the Galaxy instead of whoever really did send those spaceships?" Dammek shrugs.  
  
That...  
  
"I guess that would make sense," you say, blinking tiredly.  
  
"...Hey, are you okay?" Dammek asks. "You're not stressing yourself out, are you?"  
  
"No, it's just some weird dreams I've been having," you say. "Nothing to worry about. I just need to stop falling asleep outside the slime."  
  
"...If you say so," Dammek frowns. "But seriously, if you need to talk about it...?"  
  
"I'll come find you if they keep happening with the slime, too." You say, smiling.

* * *

 

"How do you do it?" You ask Tyzias as you sit down next to her in the... the... the cafeteria hall?? URgh. People keep calling it so many different things you're getting confused. It used to be easier just to call it the KITCHEN when it was just you, Dammek, Joey, Xefros, Mierfa, Okurii, and Salazl. But nooo, proper "Etiquite" demands that it have some kind of proper name. MESS HALL, FOOD HALL, bah! Stupid different names depending on BLOOD TIER.  
  
Someone really needs to do something about that.  
  
"Do what?" Tyzias asks.  
  
"Stay awake without Falling Asleep in the middle of something?" You ask.  
  
"Pro Tip," she turns to you, frowning. "Don't try it. Just get some sleep."  
  
"That's ironic, coming from you," you note.  
  
"Hypocritical, I know," She rolls her eyes from behind her glasses, then takes a sip from her COFFEE MUG. "But seriously. I'm a special case. Don't try it. Don't try to do what I do. I survive on an unhealthy appetite of raw caffeene and mouth burning liquids. Even then, I get immune after a while. Then I crash, and I'm out for days at a time."  
  
You frown, "I just need to finish researching this-"  
  
"Ah ah ah!" She raises a finger. "Don't make me go fetch your Moirail. We'll do the research for you if you ABSOLUTELY need this shit done. You guys dont leave for another two weeks, right?"  
  
"That is true," You sigh. "Thank you, Tyzias."  
  
"Don't thank me for tryin' to keep people from making my mistakes," she says. "I'm me, I have to deal with them. You aren't me, you don't. Got it?"  
  
You think you understand.

* * *

 

 **"OH. IT'S YOU. WELCOME BACK. (AGAIN.) DID YOU THINK THE SLIME. COULD REALLY STOP ME. YOU KNOW. THAT WOULD BE FUNNY. _IF IT WEREN'T SO SAD!!!_ "**  
  
The voice ROARS in your ears and you thrash out of the Sopor Slime, screaming. Wolf Mom is clambering up the sides of your Recuprecoon in a moment, trying to keep you from drowning on the shit. Dammek comes rushing into your room about thirty seconds later and helps pull you out of the Slime.  
  
"Holy shit, Callie! What the fuck!?" He asks.  
  
"It's still there," you whine, and whimper, clinging to his shirt and probably getting slime all over it. "He's still there even with the slime!"  
  
"Shit..." Dammek just pulls you tight into a hug and tries his best to soothe you with SHOOSH PAPS.

It barely helps.

* * *

 

"I can't find anything wrong with her, physically speaking, sans some rather large signs of sleep deprivation," the Nurse says. "The Sopor Slime SHOULD have suppressed any nightmares, though. I can't understand why it would keep surfacing?"  
  
"We could try putting her under the spores again," Joey suggests. "I could hang around with her in her head while she sleeps and wait and see what's going on."  
  
"It's risky, but it's something I'm willing to approve," Okurii says. "We need Callie in top shape for the mission."  
  
And so you're given another dosage of HAVEN SPORES, and put into a LULLING SLEEP. You feel Dammek holding your hand, and Joey adding your mind to the ARAI NETWORK.  
  
The next thing you know, you're dreaming an overall pleasant dream about being an Arai Beetle just chilling in Dammek's lap.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you're essentially doing some PRETTY FREAKY SHIT involving routing CALLIE'S MIND through your body and routing YOUR MIND through her body. Administration thankfully handles most of the heavy work in this case, allowing you to take Callie's place inside her own dreams.  
  
It'd make sense that if this were Callie's own fears, you could probably track down and isolate it with ease.  
  
What you WEREN'T EXPECTING was for the source of these nightmares to suddenly OPEN A GAPING PORTAL beneath your mental feet and drop you into a ROOM made up of STARK WHITE TILES and METAL PANELS.  
  
Then, there was the giant SNAKE MACHINE lowering itself down from the ceiling through another one of those PORTAL THINGS. It looked like a STARGATE EVENTHORIZON, actually, just without the Stargate.  
  
**"WHAT."** It- No. HE sounds SURPRISED at your presence. **"THE HELL. ARE YOU?"**  
  
"Uh... HI?" you ask, surrounding yourself with MENTAL CONSTRUCTS shaped like Arai beetles. You don't dare bring your REAL SWARM into here. Not with this thing that's CLEARLY not actually Callie's subconscious fears of a PROBABLY FAKE GOD.  
  
**"NO. JUST. WHAT. THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST."** The voice states- sounding completely caught off guard. _ **"YOU CAN'T EXIST. YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE."**_  
  
"And yet, here I am," you say, growing confident. The Bracelet pulses on your wrist in reality, the other powers coming up to the forefront. You begin subtly PROBING AT HIS DEFENSES with the CERULEAN CRYSTAL- who you're starting to internally call REGENT because why not?- and find that the personality staring across from you is very WEAK. Weak in a way that feels like he's stretching himself THIN across a VAST DISTANCE OF SPACE. Weak in a way that means that this is probably whatever PERSONALITY is on that Serpent thing that Callie was talking about earlier, and is almost certainly in another Galaxy for sure.  
  
...This is probably how she realized what that thing was supposed to really be.  
  
_**"YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT BRACELET. YOU'RE NOT ALTERNIAN."** _ The Voice of whatever ENGLISH really is growls at you. _**"THAT. IS NOT YOURS. THIEF. GIVE IT BACK. TO ME. GIVE IT NOW. INTERLOPER. THIEF. USURPER."**_  
  
"That's really funny you say that. Because even the Bracelet sure seems to think I'm the new Heiress," you say, narrowing your eyes and generating some PSYCHIC ENERGY BEAMS- or the mental space equivalent that is. Yellow Crystal- HYPERBEAM, as you've dubbed it- vibrates in reality, chiming its agreement. You have no idea what this will do to the bastard, but you get the feeling it's going to be VERY SATISFYING.  
  
_**"IMPOSSIBLE."**_ He doesn't believe you. **_"ALIEN. THIEF. INTERLOPER! YOU CANNOT BE HEIRESS! I DENY IT!_ BRACELET! I DENY YOUR CHOICE!"**  
  
Predictably, nothing happens.  
  
**"NO. YOU LISTEN TO ME. _I AM YOUR CREATOR._ IT IS BY MY WILL THAT YOU ARE THE KEY TO ALTERNIA'S THRONE. I CAN REVOKE THAT IN A HEARTBEAT."**  
  
Rather surprisingly, ADMINISTRATION pulses a remark that makes the MECH SERPENT above you recoil in anger. You echo Administration's sentiments aloud, to hammer in the point. "Yeah. That's not how this works, English."  
  
**" _USURPER!_ YOU DARE. SPEAK. MY NAME!?"** The Creature roars- enraged. Well, that confirms THAT little pet theory anyways.  
  
"I dare, and I dare tell you something else, too," you use REGENT and HYPERBEAM in concert- _**[LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE, YOU MORON!!!]**_  
  
And then you rip into his mind with Regent, tearing open his meager, weakened defenses, and allowing you to throw a pure, SPITE FILLED, RAZZLE DAZZLE BURST OF LIGHT into his head.  
  
_**"RAAAAAAAH!"**_ he roars as you BURN HIM OUT of Callie's mind. **"I! AM _NOT!!_** _A MOR--!"_  
  
And then he's GONE, sentence unfinished.  
  
You huff in annoyance. "Yeah. You are."  
  
You spend the rest of Callie's sleep cycle bolstering her MENTAL DEFENSES and properly ensuring that that LARGE HAM of a MIND SNAKE doesn't ever get a foothold back in Callie's head EVER. AGAIN.  
  
When you finally pull back and Callie wakes up, you tell her that she's not going to have to deal with this guy in her dreams ever again.  
  
That said, you go find Xefros and go talk to Okurii the first chance you get.

* * *

 

"Time to order mandatory psych evaluations for the whole rebellion," Okurii sighs. "Why now? Why reach out NOW? Why Callie??"  
  
"I don't know. It's possible he's been peering around for ages, and just tormenting people at random, but... I dunno," you shake your head. "All I DO know is that he was NOT happy to see me having the Bracelet, and the Bracelet was NOT happy to see him either."  
  
"...That's both comforting and extremely frightening," Okurii says, glancing at the Bracelet.  
  
"Agreed," Xefros nods, also eyeing it oddly.  
  
"Apparently the Bracelet really likes me as a heiress," you offer, "if that helps."

"It really doesn't," Okuri sighs. "Do you think we should take care of the Royal Lusus first before we have to deal with whatever this English guy really is?"  
  
"I'd check in with Seer Altair before we rush into it," you say. "We might need the Royal Lusus as weapon."  
  
"I'd also make sure the changes to the Megaship's piloting system are done," Xefros adds. "If this thing tormenting Callie really WAS this English God the clowns worship... you can bet at least one Reaver Ship is going to be heading our way."  
  
"Oh for-" Okurii plants a hand to her forehead. "It's like a running gag at this point, isn't it?"

* * *

 

Elsewhere in space...  
  
An Alternian Cruiser of ANCIENT DESIGN resides in the shadow of a moon, waiting for nothing in particular. It's crew is manned by nothing but PURPLE BLOODED TROLLS whose sole purpose in life is DEDICATED TO LISTENING TO THE COMMANDS OF THEIR GOD- LORD ENGLISH.  
  
They could sit there for YEARS ON END, doing nothing until they hear their God's voice in their head... or they could simply chase the nearest ship that CAUGHT THEIR INTEREST.  
  
However, for this particular ship- the voice of their God comes through in a PAINED GROWL.  
  
**"GO TO ALTERNIA.** " He DEMANDS. **"TEACH THE USURPER. A LESSON. SHE WILL NEVER FORGET. BECAUSE SHE WILL DIE SOON AFTER LEARNING IT. KILL HER. KILL HER AND TAKE THE BRACELET. RECLAIM THE THRONE."**  
  
And so the ship's crew SETS THEIR ENGINES to full power with a mighty, reverberating cry through out the entire ship. The Most FRIGHTENING SOUND IMAGINABLE.  
Four letters, so scary I shall not even write them out, for you know what the dreaded sound is.

* * *

 

"Yeah," Your name is Joey Claire... "It kinda is, at this point."  
  
...And you've suddenly got the feeling of a pit forming in the bottom of your stomach that you're going to have to use HYPERBEAM in the waking world again VERY, VERY SOON.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Caliborn is NOT a giant metal snake- it's just his space ship, and how he prefers to present himself at large. It makes him feel powerful. Because, Yes, he is still a stunted little prick of a Cherub who found a way to predominate early... 
> 
> A many, MANY, countless centuries ago.


	12. ALT:03X05: Boom Town Suite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes defend their planet from insane clowns.
> 
> It's not as fun as it sounds, trust me.

A hyper space window opens- and out from it emerges a REAVER SHIP, spikey bits gleaming and aiming to tear-  
  
_**PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_  
  
\--Never mind. A RAPIDLY ALTERNATING burst of Red and Blue energy cut through it from stern to bow and KABWLAMMO! Away it goes into tiny exploded particles, joining the rest of the OTHER DESTROYED REAVER SHIPS floating in orbit over Alternia.  
  
_"Thirty to Fifteen,"_ Joey Claire speaks over the radio, sounding tired and bored.  
  
"Damn it," you- being DAMMEK- swear from the cockpit of the MEGASHIP. Alongside you are a COUPLE OF OTHER TROLLS who are good with psychic controlling of large objects. "Why are you getting so many!?"  
  
_"Gotta place your bets better, Damdamz,"_ Joey chuckles. _"Spawn camping hyperspace windows doesn't do you any good if-"_  
  
A hyperspace window opens and you and your crew are ON IT this time- swinging your sword straight into the path of an ONCOMING REAVER SHIP still traveling at close-to-light-speeds.  
  
_SLIIIIIIIICE!_  
  
Two pieces of Reaver Ship go spiraling out in opposite directions before EXPLODING, BRILLIANTLY.

"Thirty to _SIX_ teen," you correct.  
  
_"Lucky break,"_ Joey grumbles. _"As I was saying, spawn camping their ships doesn't do you any good if they don't come out anywhere near you."_  
  
"You just stick to your side of the planet, Joey Claire, and I'll stick to mine," you remark.  
  
_"You're just mad I chose the side of the planet more ships have been coming out on,"_ she teases back.  
  
"No," you half lie, half tell the truth. "I'm mad because the jerk who tried messing with my Moirail's head is sending REAVERS after us just because you ticked him off with a laser to the face."  
  
You are just a SMIDGEN angry that she got such a lucky break in choosing which side of the planet more ships would show up on, though.  
  
_"Aw, look at you, being all protective!"_ Joey giggles. If she weren't on the other side of the planet, you'd... you'd... you'd probably just glare in her general direction, to be honest. Honestly, you'd expect her to give some kind of chiding remark, but she doesn't. Instead, all you hear is a _**PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_ and see a distant flash of red and blue light spearing another Reaver ship. _"AHHA! Thirty One to Sixteen!"_  
  
"Damn it!" You yell out. "Seriously!?"  
  
**_PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!_** _"Thirty_ TWO!"  
  
"Gaaaah..." You groan.  
  
This... yeah, this is going to GO ON FOR A WHILE.  
  
Let's check in with someone else, hm?

* * *

 

Your name is OKURII LEIJON and you feel a small headache coming on.  
  
Whatever this "LORD ENGLISH" really is? His REACTIONARY PLANNING SKILLS seem awfully LOW. In reaction to Joey kicking him out of Callie's head, he's just sent REAVER SHIP AFTER REAVER SHIP after Alternia... but OH NO, not in any sane, smart, or particularly CUNNING ways.  
  
He just sends them.  
  
One after the other.  
  
And the dumb clowns just follow the orders to jump to their deaths.  
  
Hell, it's not even JUST been with ships either. Some of them have tried it with the STARGATE too... thankfully, the PRIMARY GATE'S SHIELD helps with that... Even if it is A MESSY SIGHT TO BEHOLD.  
  
They're like LEMMINGS, Joey had remarked after about the THIRD ATTEMPT. You don't know what Lemmings are, but if they BLINDLY LEAP INTO DEATH? Then yes. They're PURPLE BLOODED, CLOWN MAKEUP WEARING LEMMINGS.  
  
_**WAA WAA! KAWOOOSH!**_  
  
And speaking of...  
  
Before Zebede can even CHECK for an IDC- **WHAM WHAM WHAM!** Three massive purple BULKING SHAPES briefly appear between the Gate's SHIELD and its EVENTHORIZON- before going SPLAT and becoming nothing more than PURPLE COLORED, ATOMIC OOZE against the shield.  
  
...As the Gate shuts down, all you can say, really, is... "Another one from P3R-297?"  
  
"Yeah," Zebede nods. "Callie's new caller ID program says it's the same address."  
  
AH, yes. THAT. Something Callie had literally finished minutes after the first incoming clown car wormhole had happened. It was supposed to be used for when EARTH finally dialed in and sent a return message. In the mean time, it was something of a handy CALLER ID on top of the IDC system, and it was certainly being put through its paces.  
  
Eventually, this ENGLISH guy would run out of INSANE CLOWNS to throw at Alternia, and the Galaxay would be a SOMEWHAT RELATIVELY SAFER PLACE than it was before. So hey, if he wants to keep wasting foot soldiers by sending them one at a time instead of all at once? Power to the guy. It helps you out more than it helps him.

* * *

 

Your name is MIERFA DURGAS, and you're considering your WEAPON'S LOADOUT for this upcoming mission. TROLL HORN NUNCHUCKS are- while your PRIZED WEAPON- going to stand out in the ancient times. Even now-a-days they'd stand out if people knew they were really made out of TROLL HORN. Daraya has her FAUX HORN CHIP BRACELETS, and you've seen some PIERCINGS made out of FAKE HORNS put on someone's REAL HORNS, but even so...  
  
Way back then during the time of the SUMMONER'S REVOLT? Troll Horn ANYTHING is going to stand out.  
  
And so it is with RELUCTANCE that you decide to leave your PRIZED WEAPON at home and plan to use a couple of other sets. One of them is a HIDDEN BLADE-KIND version that you picked up from a store a few weeks ago. A decent swing, and the spring locked BLADES will shoot out to deal even more damage.  
  
You're going to use that as a LAST RESORT ONLY kind of weapon.  
  
Your other ones are basically either METAL, PLASTIC, or some FIBERGLASS COMPOSITION.  
  
You expect some of them to break. You pray that you get lucky and none do.

* * *

 

 _"Forty to_ TWENTY!" Dammek cheers over the radio. _"HAH! I'm catching up!"_  
  
Your name is JOEY CLAIRE and you're just sort of... floating, idle, in orbit over Alternia. Xefros and a DRAGONFLY rest nearby, but you're stretching your NOT SO METAPHORICAL WINGS and getting some PRACTICE IN with AFOREMENTIONED WINGS and with HYPERBEAM as well.  
  
Ah, and speaking of, there's another ship.  
  
_**PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_  
  
You blast it to pieces with HYPERBEAM.  
  
You were a LITTLE hesitant to do this at first, but after blowing up the FOURTH SHIP you've kind of just... GOTTEN BORED. It's mundane.  
The Hyperspace windows twinkle, your HELMET'S SENSOR ARRAY detects it, you take aim, and the moment an INSANE CLOWN SPACESHIP emerges, you BLAST it to pieces.  
  
"Forty ONE, Dammek," you tell him.  
  
_"GAAAAH!"_ He yells, annoyed. Likely, you imagine him running his hands through his hair all frustrated like.  
  
It's just a little bit of friendly competition, really. But still. You're taking a LITTLE PLEASURE out of the idea of beating your Moirail's FORMER MOIRAIL at something as trivial as DESTROYING REAVERS.  
  
Another one emerges. _**PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_ You blow it to shreds. Distantly, you swear you hear something akin to a HORN HONKING, but that should be impossible given the lack of SOUNDS IN SPACE.  
  
But then again, the lack of sound thing doesn't seem to stop HYPERBEAM from being loud and unforgiving as it blows up enemy ships.  
  
You think that happy little yellow crystal is enjoying this a little bit too much. In your mind, you hear some vageuly thought based, not really VERBAL sentiment that your brain understands as "Such Delicious Data!"  
  
It's almost disturbing how the other Crystals seem to be JEALOUS of HYPERBEAM for its current over-usage. Well, the ones that aren't ADMINISTRATOR (Lime Green), the Purple one you've started to call SHAPER, or JADE GREEN- who you haven't really figured out what it does enough yet to figure out a name for it- that is.  
The BRACELET ITSELF- the stark white stone base you're calling STRENGTH- seems annoyed that you haven't had the chance to PUNCH ANYTHING in the nose. Regent- Cerulean Blue- feels like it wants to tear into the CLOWN'S MINDS instead of you blasting them to pieces.

BRONZE ORANGE- who feels like it does something ELSE beyond communing with animals but hasn't really wanted to reveal itself yet-  seems to be annoyed in general that you're leaning more on Administrator for the ARAI SWARM stuff more than it's annoyed that you're not using it right here and now for the "EPIC" space battle stuff. Finally, RUST RED- or REAPER, as you've taken to calling it- is just mad you're not RIPPING THE SOULS of the Clowns right out of their bodies the moment they exit hyperspace.

You used to be content to ignore how MILDLY SENTIENT they all were on their own, but combined together as a solid whole? It's become harder and harder to put out of mind. And especially after dealing with ENGLISH... they seem almost... CHATTY.  
  
Again, not LITERALLY, but they're certainly more eager to VOICE THEIR OPINIONS on things to you than they were before. It's probably got something to do with the WHOLE being REUNITED or something. Still---  
  
**"TWO SHIPS!"** Dammek cries out, super excited. _**"I GOT A SHIP THAT HAD ANOTHER SHIP HIDING INSIDE IT LIKE A FREAKING NESTING DOLL!! FORTY ONE TO TWENTY TWO! WHOOOO!"**_

\--Well. At least you have other, more important things to focus on for now than whether or not you're favoring ANY ONE SUPER CRYSTAL.

 _ **PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_ You blew up another Reaver ship with a small smile.  "That's still Forty Two to Twenty Two, Dammek."

_"AAAAHHH!!! SERIOUSLY!?"_

* * *

 

Your name is XEFROS TRITOH, and you're... kinda bored, honestly?  
  
You're just sitting here, in a Dragonfly, watching as Joey drifts around on GLOWING WINGS and blasts REAVER SHIPS out of the sky.  
  
You've still got a solid WEEK AND A HALF before you have to depart to the PAST.  
  
Well, you suppose, if you had to choose just ONE WAY to relax and rewind before gearing up for such a mission...  
  
_**PCHZYOOOOOOOMM!**_  
  
There are worse ways to do it than watching your MOIRAIL blast insane Clowns out of the sky.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the timing of certain events, Caliborn had no idea that Alternia had ever been WITHOUT a Stargate. 
> 
> Meanwhile, he just contacts Reaver ships one at a time as he's able to manage. It's still A LOT OF SPACE his mind has to reach across to. Will the clowns ever wisen up and just... stop going the instant they're told to and maybe make a plan?? 
> 
> ...Yeah. That'd be a solid NO. Caliborn'll realize his plan's not working and try something different soon enough...
> 
> Eventually.
> 
> For now he's a WHOLE galaxy away and is getting limited feedback from his Clown sacrifices. 
> 
> Soon... the TIME TRAVEL TEAM will... y'know. Time Travel.


	13. SG1:03X10: Forever in a Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate marches on.

**MARCH 8Th, 1997.**  
  
Your name is SKAARA, and you feel nervous in ways you otherwise normally wouldn't.  
  
For the first time since her birth, JADE HARLEY is on Abydos.  
  
While your FATHER had made it clear that he respected your decision, he didn't necessarily APPROVE, but respected it nevertheless. And honestly as long as you were on EARTH with her most of the time, KASUF seemed okay with the idea of having Jade be in the capable hands of someone better suited to raise a young girl with potential SUPER POWERS, something that... Abydos' locals hadn't yet really figured out how to deal with.  
  
Powers were surfacing more and more often it seemed these days. Every time you come by, you hear about this person or that person suddenly starting to develop wild TELEKENSIS or ANIMAL COMMUNION. Some people were even starting to hear the voices of the RECENTLY DEAD, and isn't THAT just terrifying to think about?  
  
Whatever powers Jade would be developing, at least at the SGC they could be observed and trained in a way that nobody on Abydos had a solid grasp on yet.  
  
You feel nervous. Very nervous.   
  
What if Kasuf suddenly decides Jade would be better off here on Abydos? What if what if what if what IF?  
  
So many what ifs run through your head you're barely paying attention when Jude Harley comes walking back over to you with a whining Jade, and a sorrowful looking Kasuf.  
  
"-ara?"  
  
"Sorry, what?" You ask.   
  
"I said, are you ready to go, Skaara?" Jude asks.   
  
"I hear the beginning howls of a Sandstorm," your father, Kasuf, says. "You'd best be returning to the Gate before it hits."  
  
Your mind is a whirlwind of thoughts- but you nod. "Yes. I'm good to go."  
  
"I'll go check with Colonel O'neill, then," Jude says, and then heads off, leaving you and your father alone.  
  
"You're worrying over whether you made the right decision or not, aren't you?" Kasuf asks.   
  
"I am," you barely manage to say.   
  
"I don't think you need to worry," he tells you. "She reminds me of Sha're when she was that age. Very headstrong in what I've seen. Full of potential that I feel might be wasted here on Abydos. She wouldn't like living here."  
  
"What?" You ask. "How can you be so sure?"  
  
"Sometimes, Son, you can look in someone's eyes, and you see something about their future," Kasuf says, putting a hand on your shoulder and squeezing a comforting tightness. "I see the Stars in her eyes; not desert and blasting winds." He then looks you in your eyes, and says, "Just as I see a strong will in yours. To return her father to her safely. To return those still lost at Apophis' hands to us."  
  
"I feel like I'm failing, Kasuf," You admit. "I haven't found anyone. We haven't brought Daniel back. And Sha're..." You shake your head. "I should have BEEN there for her, not-!"  
  
"Do not Blame Yourself!" Kasuf squeezes your shoulder again- tighter. "Do NOT! You did everything you could to bring Daniel back to Sha're! That she died when he was taken by that blasted Atum...! That is NOT your fault! That is COINCIDENCE! A poetic turn of fate, yes, but nothing MORE."  
  
"I... I understand," you nod.   
  
And with that, Colonel O'neill and Jude with Jade in arm come back over to you.  
  
"Ready to go?" O'neill asks.  
  
"Yeah," you nod to him, then, to you father, "Thank you, Kasuf."  
  
"Whenever you feel the need to talk, I will be here," he says to you, smiling.

Jade's still fussy by the time you make it back to the Pyramid- in fact, gets MORE fussy as you get closer and closer to the Gate.  
  
To the point that O'neill draws his ZAT and tells Jude to hang back.  
  
You quickly draw your own ZAT GUN and follow O'neill's silent lead into the GATE ROOM.  
  
That's when you see her, slumped up against the DHD, panting for breath, and bleeding from some wound to her side. AMAUNET, or rather, the host there of- Carol Weterings.  
  
"Could you... sing me that song... about the fish, Colonel?" She asks, smiling tiredly.   
  
"What the hell?" O'neill asks, moving over to her cautiously. "Weterings? Is that you?"  
  
"In the flesh," she answers, tiredly.  
  
"You'll have to forgive us if we're a bit hesitant to believe that," O'neill says. "The last 'you' we captured turned out to be a clone."  
  
"Sorry-" She winces, trying to sit up. "Sorry about that."  
  
"What happened?" You ask, moving down to check on the woman. "How did you get hurt?"  
  
"Heru'ur had us- me and the kid- dead to rights," she says, panting for breath as she lets you see the wound- a staff blast or something similar grazed her side. "Then this- this shadow thing came out of no- nowhere."   
  
"Shadow thing?" O'neill asks as he signals for you to go get Jude and as he goes to Dial the Gate and get you all out of there.  
  
"Heru- Heru..." Weterings coughs. "That Bastard called it 'Anubis'- but Amaunet didn't believe it. Said Anubis should have been dead. Was dead."  
  
"Shit," O'neill says, voice growing distant as you head back and quietly tell Jude to try to keep Jade quiet as you re-enter the room. "Anubis? What happened then?"  
  
"The Shadow did this.. this weird thing. Waved its arms and then That... That Bastard just died," Weterings explains. "Then the Shadow did something to us and we blacked out and- and the next thing I know we're on some random ass alien planet the Shadow is calling 'Ke... Khep? No. 'Kheb.'" she nods. "It was Kheb."   
  
A moment later, the GATE ACTIVATES, O'neill sends the IDC, and sends Jude and Jade through first, with an order to request medical attention. After he's through, you and he lift Weterings up to her feet, and carry her up to the Gate.  
  
As you get up to the event horizon, she continues to explain, "He kept us there for... I don't know how long. But I managed to escape- couldn't bring the kid, though. Got-" SCHLORP! "-Got shot on the way to the Gate and barely made it out of there." She concludes as you step down onto the Ramp in the SGC. "Amaunet's been trying to... to keep me alive. Not sure how much longer she can... can..."  
  
And then she faints in your arms.  
  
"MEDIC!" O'neill yells out. "WE NEED A MEDIC, STAT!!"

* * *

 

Your name is COLONEL O'NEILL, and today's sufficiently gone to SHIT. You and Hammond stand in the observation room, peering through the window into the isolation chamber where Carol Weterings lays, still as death.  
  
"Amaunet's fallen into a death coma," Ka'turnal-Slash-The-Goa'uld-System-Lord-Formerly-Known-As-Nirrti reports solemnly as she and Janet Fraiser enter the room. "Not quite dead yet, but near enough to cause problems. We can try to remove her, but the host might not survive if we do it."  
  
"We're doing what we can for Weterings in the mean time," Dr. Fraiser adds, "Carter and Jolinar are trying to use one of the Tok'ra healing devices they traded us recently to try and heal her, but the damage is fairly extensive and they're not sure it can work."  
  
"At least we finally have an answer for her family," Hammond sighs.  
  
Down below Carter/Jolinar raise their hands out and use a device that looks SIMILAR to the Hand Ribbon Device that the Goa'uld seem fond of- except this one is very much STRIPPED DOWN in appearance and looks more like an AIR HOCKEY TABLE PADDLE than a semi-glove-like device.  
  
Golden energy streams down from the device onto Weterings, and yet...  
  
Nothing seems to happen, that you can see, at least.  
  
"So, 'Ka'turnal,'" you begin. "What do you know about 'Kheb' and why would Anubis take an infant super horse baby there?"  
  
"That's a difficult question to answer, the second part," the Geneticist says. "Anubis, logically, should be dead. Several System Lords brutally put him down not too long after Khepri took over as Ra. I never saw the body, mind you, so it's possible he faked it and the others didn't think to check. And yet..." She shakes her head. "There's the issue of him lurking in the shadows. Never appearing in person whenever he makes a rare appearance. Always this strange, robed, shadowy energy apparition. The other System Lords suspected a semi-tangible Hologram of some sort. It's entirely possible it's just someone pretending to be Anubis and this is their way of doing it."  
  
"You don't sound like you believe that, though," Hammond observes.  
  
"Kheb... Kheb was a planet, long long ago, that Jaffa who were no longer able to carry Symbiotes went to. Supposedly it held a gateway to the Afterlife, and they would die there to move on." Ka'turnal says. "If Anubis DID die, and found a way to come back, who's to say that Kheb's 'gateway' was one way only? The Stargates aren't, certainly."  
  
"So would you say it's possible, just spit balling here," you say, "that Anubis isn't really... all here? That maybe that shadow form isn't just a hologram and might be... him? Actually?"  
  
"I..." Ka'turnal frowns. "Yes. That would certainly explain why he would want a Harcesis badly enough to kidnap Amaunet and the child. A host that he would possess not by physical means, but by an energy form? ...Maybe... I don't think Ghosts actually exist, but the possibility that Anubis found some way to cheat death by transitioning to a state of matter the other System Lords could not detect? That would give cause for concern."  
  
"Do you know the Gate Address?" Hammond asks.  
  
"No, not off hand," Ka'turnal shakes her head. "Khepri had the planet scrubbed from every Goa'uld database shortly after her ascension as Ra. I'm not sure why, but she seemed... afraid of the place, somehow."  
  
"Chances are it's not in the Abydos library, then," you say.   
  
"Janet!" Carter calls from downstairs.  
  
"Right, coming!" Dr. Fraiser calls out, then nods her head to the General as she turns to leave. "Excuse me, Sirs."  
  
"So," you summarize, "we've got a rogue, possibly zombified energy Goa'uld with a kidnapped super baby on a planet that even Khepri was afraid of. Why do I NOT like the sound of this?"

* * *

 

Your name is DR. JANET FRAISER, and you can't help but SIGH IN RELIEF at some good news.  
  
Carter and Jolinar had, using the healing device, healed up both Amaunet AND Carol Weterings enough that they felt confident enough to call the TOK'RA, and get a SPECIALIST IN to safely remove Amaunet from Weterings.  
  
That will be done later today.   
  
For now, you can only hope that Carol will recover as fast as safely possible.

* * *

 

"Kheb?" You are now TEAL'C, and you're honestly surprised at hearing that name. "Yes, I know of it. Legend and rumor, mostly."  
  
"Okay," O'neill says. "Anything you know might help."  
  
You consider this, and nod in agreement. "Indeed." So... what do you know about KHEB?  
  
"Long ago, Jaffa elders learned of a temple on a planet that they believed held instructions on how to enter the afterlife. The Goa'uld learned of this, however, and sent a team to investigate. They were destroyed."  
  
"So a defense system of some kind, or maybe just a strong defending force," O'neill muses. "Anything else?"  
  
"There were rumors that Isis and Osiris took refuge on Kheb after being betrayed by Setesh." You say. "While it is unlikely Kheb actually exists there, it is well known that Osiris indeed hid away on a planet in the Locnakoh System."  
  
"Lock nakko?" O'neill asks, mangling the pronunciation.  
  
"Locnakoh, a Mining system," you correct and elaborate. "Most of the planets there have been strip mined to the point of Un-inhabitability." You muse. "If Kheb exists still within that System, it is likely one of the still intact planets."  
  
"Know any of the addresses?" O'neill asks.  
  
"Unfortunately, I do not, Colonel O'neill," You answer. "The system has been abandoned for quite some time by all parties with the relevant planets exhausted of resources. It was, as has been said here on Earth, before my time."  
  
"Damn," O'neill shakes his head. "Well, I guess this means we have to start searching planets the old fashioned way. Gotta love a good ol' scavenger hunt."  
You muse on that, and find a humorous connection between your current dilemma and one you'd heard about regarding Jude Harley's sister "Did not young Joey Harley go on such a scavenger hunt to recover pieces of that Ancient Bracelet?"  
  
"Yeah, that she did," O'neill nods. Sighing. "Well, if a fifteen year old kid can find a bunch of crystals on a bunch of alien planets, how hard could it be to find one planet with just ONE kid?"  
  
"I suspect it will be very hard, Colonel O'neill," you inform him.   
  
"Ahh ah! Don't jinx us, Teal'c." He gives you THAT LOOK. The one that means "you just did the thing I'm telling you not to do again, please?"  
  
Jinx... jinx... Oh! Right. That's what that word means.   
  
"I will attempt not to," you concede, and he gives you a returning look that's hard to decipher.  
  
"You do that," he says. 

* * *

 

Your name is JOLINAR.  
  
"Amaunet has been safely removed," Martouf says, smiling to you and your Host as the other Tok'ra that came with him exit the operation theater with a large LIQUID FILLED JAR containing an SYMBIOTE- Amaunet. "The host should recover on her own in enough time."   
  
There's a pause, then LANTASH speaks, **"With this victory secured, only a few minor Goa'uld from Apophis' regime remain. We'll do our best to hunt them down safely and securely. We've actually gotten a lead on one who has been laying low, pretending to be the host, a girl named Kairi, who we believe came form Abydos. We'll let you know if it pans out."**  
  
"Thanks," Carter says, nodding. "Skaara will be happy to hear that you're tracking her down."  
  
Lantash stares at you, pointedly, and Carter mentally pokes you- trying to see if you have anything you want to say.  
  
You most certainly do not.  
  
"Sorry," Carter shakes her head, "she doesn't want to talk right now."  
  
 **"I see."** After a pause, Lantash fades back away, and Martouf takes back over with a sigh. "This is such an awkward situation, isn't it?"   
  
"That it is, Martouf," Carter agrees, sighing as well. "That it is."  
  
Well, you'll certainly agree to it being that, too.  
  
"By the way, how's my Father doing?" Carter asks.  
  
"As eager to get out into the field as Selmak is," Martouf answers. "They would have come had they not been out on a surveillance mission on Sokar's fleet."  
  
"Tell them we say Hi, when they get back," Carter says.  
  
"I will," Martouf nods.  
  
And so as the Tok'ra team heads for the Stargate, you feel a growing sense of UNEASE within your real body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another brick in the wall.


	14. ALT:03X06: A Symbolic Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Yeah. New Troll Signs finally released. Whoo! Check it out if you haven't already: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/index.php
> 
> See notes at the end for a list of characters and signs.

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and to be honest, you're kind of confused by the [NEW SYMBOL](http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Cango) on the shirt Callie is wearing.  
  
"...What?" Callie asks, blinking in confusion as you sit down across from her at a table in the dining hall place. (SO. MANY. NAMES. ARGH.)  
  
"Is that a new shirt?" You ask.  
  
"Not really?" She shrugs. "It's my birth sign, actually. I just... figured I didn't need to keep hiding behind a Stargate symbol anymore. Seemed kind of silly to keep it up since most everyone around here knows I'm a Lime Blood anyways. A disguise tactic only works in so far as people don't realize I'm not really what I'm pretending to be"  
  
"...Huh, okay then," you shake your head. "Anyways, so..." An idea occurs to you suddenly. "Wait. Hold on one minute. I know there's a LOT of people around here with symbols and signs and what not. But I only just thought to ask... how many are there?"  
  
"...A Lot of Empire sanctioned and recognized ones, and a lot more unofficial ones," Callie answers. "Let's just leave it at that."  
  
"...Fair enough," you concede the point. "So, anyways. I came to ask since we're, like, days out from leaving. Do we have the list of names?"  
  
"Oh, yes, definitely," Callie nods. "Probably way more names than we even really need."  
  
"Cool," You say. "Glad to hear it."  
  
"Was there anything else?" Callie asks. "You seem a bit nervous."  
  
"I... uh... Missed my time of the month," you confess.  
  
"Oh?" Callie blinks. "That's... unusual, back on Earth?"  
  
"Under certain circumstances? No." You shake your head. "But it's not what's going on here. I checked. It, ah..." You laugh a bit nervously. "I think Shaper did some reworking on my innards when it gave me the Arai wings." The purple crystal on your bracelet gleams at being called out by name.  
  
"..." Callie blinks. "Let me guess," she says slowly, carefully. "It decided you bleeding out every month was a waste of resources and shut it down?"  
  
"More than that," you shake your head. "I think I know what it did, but would it be okay if I checked your biology against mine?"  
  
Callie considers for a moment. Then... "Oh. Do you think it-?"  
  
"Probably," you cut her off before she can finish that sentence. "That's kind of why I want to check."  
  
"Why not ask Mierfa?" Callie asks, offering you her hand to take.  
  
"...'Cause I don't want her freaking out?" you ask-answer as you take her hand. "Also, if I'm wrong, I don't want to get her hopes up."  
  
"Fair enough," Callie says, eyeing the bracelet as you activate Shaper and DOUBLE CHECK.  
  
...Yup. Now that you're looking directly, SHAPER all but CONFESSES that it has totally been reworking your reproductive system to closer match that of a TROLL'S. Day after day, subtle molecular change by subtle molecular change, every time you interact with another Troll Shaper takes some COMPARISON DATA to compare by. Now that you're directly comparing with Callie, it's practically begging you to let it finish the job.  
  
"...I was right," you say as you take your hand away from Callie's. "It totally tried to make my insides more like a Troll's."  
  
"Oh geeze," Callie breathes out. "That's got to be terrifying."  
  
"Terrifying, yes," you pause... "But it also gives me an idea."  
  
"An idea?" Callie asks, raising an eyebrow. "How so?"  
  
"Well... I stand out a LOT on Alternia here and now as a human, right?" you say. "But... back then? I'll stand out even more. So..." You think for a moment. "What if I use Shaper to make my outsides look like a Troll too?"  
  
"A shape shifting disguise?" Callie muses. "That... that could work." She smiles. "If you could change back and forth easily enough, it'd be just like me changing my shirts out for wearing different signs."  
  
"Exactly," you nod. "I think... I think this could work."

* * *

 

Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK, and you think... You're gonna try to risk changing your own past. Not that you're going to tell anyone that.  
  
"You what?" Okurii Leijon- the Rebellion's GENERAL IN CHIEF- blinks at you, confounded.  
  
"I want to join the team that goes back in time," you say.  
  
"..." She stares for a moment. "Why?"  
  
"Primarily? Research," you say without hesitating. "I want to see what the legal system was like back then in person." It's a lie, of course, but still... "Besides that, there's also the fact that there are certain people I've read about that I believe should survive, but need to stay in the past. I want to deal with them personally."  
  
"...Fine," Okurii nods. "You've got my tentative permission to join the team. Just make sure you clear your mission plans with the Team before hand."  
  
"Understood," you nod. "Thank you, Ma'am."

* * *

 

Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you're more than a little worried as you, Xefros, and Joey sit down in your lab- which you decided to lock the door to just incase someone got any smart ideas and barged in unannounced.  
  
"For the record," Xefros says. "I'm voicing my opinion as Moirail that this could be a very stupid idea and will put my foot down on any future attempts incase you go Were-Lusus again."  
  
"For the record, opinion noted," Joey says. "Now, give me your hands."  
  
You give Joey your right hand, and Xefros takes her right hand and thus, you sit there in a little circle, as the purple crystal glows softly.  
  
"I'm... finishing what Shaper did to my insides first. Just so I have a proper baseline to return to in case this outside disguise thing goes wrong," Joey informs you as she closes her eyes.  
  
"Always good to have backups," you say.  
  
"Could you revert it all, in case you ever needed to?" Xefros asks.  
  
"I'd need another human to compare with first," Joey says. "Kind of in short supply here on Alternia. Besides that, ideally I'd need another, unchanged me to get me exactly 100% back to pure human Joey Claire, but another me just flat out doesn't exist, so the best I could probably get away with is looking at Roxy's biology, which might cause some funky glitchy stuff if I did it wrong. Still, whole galaxy away. Not going to worry about it for now."  
  
"Yeah, good point," Xefros nods.  
  
"By the way," Joey continues, "It's pretty weird, but it looks like Trolls as a species got modified pretty heavily at one point. Probably by the Bracelet, I'd guess."  
  
"Really?" You ask.  
  
"Yeah. It looks like Trolls were kinda similar to Humans once upon a time- but you just laid eggs directly, no Mother Grub involved," Joey frowns. "It all got ripped out and replaced with the current stuff a loooooong time ago, though. Wonder what happened there?"  
  
"Probably something to do with the sun, I'd guess," you theorize. "Things on Alternia were reportedly very different before the sun started turning giant."  
  
"Or maybe it was done so the population booms faster?" Xefros offers. "It'd make sense to me if some Empress did it to get people born faster and in greater numbers."  
  
"Either way..." Joey sighs out in relief, and opens her eyes. "Finished with step one, and I've saved it."  
  
"That was fast," you say.  
  
"Shaper already did most of the work behind the scenes," Joey says. "I was just finishing it up and making sure it won't cause me any troubles going forwards." She smiles, and adds, "On the bright side, I won't have any more annoying down time weeks every month anymore!"  
  
"There is that," Xefros smiles- relief evident in his voice. Seeing a teammate get taken out by her own biology every month had been very tough for him, you'd observed, even before he was said teammate's Moirail.  
  
Truthfully, you're a little bit relieved too.  
  
"Now then, time to give me some horns and paint my skin grey!" Joey giggles, then closes her eyes again.  
  
This time, you're able to watch as "Shaper" does its thing, literally sending ripples of energy across Joey's skin.  
  
You feel her hand changing within your own grip first- fingernails subtly sharpening, and skin toughening up just a bit. The color shifts to the same grey hue of an Alternian standard skin tone, and then...  
  
"Owww..." Joey grunts- and the light stops for a moment. She opens her eyes, and you see that the WHITES have turned ORANGE, and her normally mint green irises have shifted to LIME GREEN. How bold, Joey. How bold. "Horns. I forgot about the horns." She mutters, closing her eyes again, and squinting as she forces a pair of ORANGE HORNS to form in the same style as XEFROS' HORNS, if a bit smaller.  
  
Aw, how cute.  
  
After a few moments, Joey opens her eyes again, and she gingerly pulls her hands out of yours and Xefros' grasp to reach up and feel the horns. "Do they look alright?"  
  
"Yeah," Xefros nods.  
  
She gets up and tries to walk around- "Woooah!" And nearly falls falt on her ass for doing so. Thankfully, Xefros manages to catch her.  
  
"You okay?" He asks.  
  
"Balance is off. Not used to the weight on my head like this," Joey answers. "I think I made them too heavy. Gonna just... hollow 'em out a bit..."  
Shaper glows purple on her bracelet, and then Joey tries to stand up again.  
  
"...Okay, yeah... that's better. Now it's more like I'm wearing a headband with some fake ears on 'em," she says, and begins walking around the room, trying to get used to the changes she'd made. "Ergh, feet are weird. Probably should shorten those toe nails...." A pulse from Shaper. "Better. And... Um, Xef, can I double check something real quick?" she grabs her Moirail's hand, and... "Oh, yeah, duh. I forgot to adjust the skeleton bone density. Guess that's what I get for micromanaging it."  
  
After a few more minutes of back and forth regarding this, Joey finally decides that she's settled her 'disguised form' enough, and saves it as another profile. A few moments later, she's shifted back to looking like the human girl you've known all this time.  
  
"Erugh." She puts a hand to her head. "Okay... that's really screwy. I don't think I'm gonna be doing this back and forth rapidly any time soon. It'll work for a disguise, but I'm gonna have to use it pretty sparingly while we're out on the field."  
  
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Xefros agrees.  
  
"Definitely," you also agree. "Likely the only time you'll NEED to shift back to human during our trip back is when you and your past self interact."  
  
"Speaking of," Xefros says, turning to you, "did you ever figure out what we might need those stun grenades for?"  
  
"Not yet," you shake your head. "I'm sure it'll come to me in the heat of the moment, though."  
  
"Well, let's just hope we don't need them for a rescue mission for someone we brought back into the past," Joey says.  
  
"We probably do need them to rescue people we intend to bring back to the future, though," Xefros says, and Joey giggles at the last part of his statement for some reason.  
  
"Oh... Gosh, Roxy and Pa and Jude would get a real kick out of this time travel stuff," She answers when Xefros asks what's up. "I just... yeah. Movies. Remind me when we get a chance to visit Earth to show you some of the great classics, right?"  
  
"Naturally," Xefros says. "It'll be a quicker viewing spree than our current slog through Alternia's movie history, that's for sure."  
  
"Sounds like it'll be fun," You say, heading to unlock the lab door. "We'll have to-" You slide the door open, and nearly jump in surprise as you see Tyzias standing on the other side, hand raised in preparation to knock. "Oh! Tyzias! You scared me there!"  
  
"Sorry," she apologizes, taking her hand back down quickly and shoving it into a pocket. "So, uh... is it okay if I go with you guys back in time?"  
  
"I don't have a problem with it, do you?" You look to Joey, and she shrugs.  
  
"I don't see why not," Joey says. "Maybe you should talk with Okurii, though, Tyzias?"  
  
"Already did," Tyzias says. "She said it was okay as long as I talked with you and you okayed it."  
  
"Well, I guess welcome to the team, then," Joey smiles.  
  
"Thanks," Tyzias smiles.  
  
"Yeah," you nod. "Welcome to the team."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Appearing Canon Trolls in SG:Alternia:  
> Trizza: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Picen  
> Tyzias: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Licer  
> Xefros: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Ariborn  
> Dammek: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Taurcer  
> Zebede: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Gempio  
> Daraya: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Virnius  
> Mallek: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Scorist  
> \---  
> Concept Art Trolls who might not be canon anymore:  
> Teal Commander (RIP): http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Ligo  
> Hivekeep : http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Gemnius  
> \---  
> Non Canon Trolls:  
> Okurii Leijon: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Lecer  
> Salazl Captor: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Gemgo  
> Callie Ohphee: http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Cango  
> (Note: Callie has used Two different Stargate glyphs to disguise herself in the past. #07: Cah'le (LIME) and #31: Kerbus (OLIVE) See https://78.media.tumblr.com/ec179a49c1f57e400288f65bb6091ae4/tumblr_oxfj1mnqFz1vxvb19o1_1280.png for specific shapes)


	15. ALT:03X07: Tree Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team makes their jump back.

The whirling vortex of a Stargate Wormhole stretches out into infinity as a solar flare intersects it, causing the wormhole to bend backwards and return towards the planet it had originated from- HAVEN.  
  
With a brief stumble of REINTEGRATION, you and your team emerge from the Stargate pushing a DRAGONFLY out into the familiar sights of HAVEN'S PAST FOREST- no path around the Gate, and no sign of any anima-  
  
"EEEEE! OOO EEEEEE!"  
  
-Wait, you take that back. Some NATIVE MONKEYS take off from their perch on the DHD, and go scrambling into the trees.  
  
Who are you again?  
  
The Gal they call the--  
  
"HURRP!"  
  
...Nevermind. The sounds of your TEAMMATE LOSING THEIR BREAKFAST to the forest floor has ruined your DRAMATIC NAME REVEAL.   
  
Yeah. You're MIERFA DURGAS. No big surprise there.  
  
"Is it always so... rough?" TYZIAS ENTYKK asks, struggling to stay upright.   
  
"That's pretty much the standard Time Travel Wormhole, yeah," CALLIE OHPHEE says, patting her fellow TECH SAVVY CODER on the back.  
  
"Dammek, Daraya, Mallek, Xefros," JOEY CLAIRE, your AWESOME MATESPRIT with the MAGITECH BRACELET, orders. "Go find the site that Latula said she found the Gate Address stone at, set up a base camp there for the moment, and park the Dragonfly there. Make sure to let me know if you find anything suspiciously temporally displaced."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am!" Dammek says with a half-laugh.  
  
"Mierfa, Callie, Tyzias," Joey continues, "with me. Let's go let Latula know we'll be here for a while."  
  
And with that, your two teams split up to go their specific ways.  
  
At first, it was just going to be the four of you who'd been observed in the past by yourselves directly; however, after Tyzias volunteered to join the group, and Callie confirmed THE EXACT LIST of who she thought needed to be rescued from the past, it rapidly became apparent that a full TWO TEAMS would be needed to go back.   
  
Both teams would work on RESCUING PEOPLE from their listed DEATH DATES until the first window of opportunity to return to the future, at which point B SQUAD- consisting of DAMMEK, MALLEK, DARAYA, and TYZIAS- would return to the future with their load of rescued people, leaving A SQUAD- consisting of yourself, JOEY, XEFROS, and CALLIE- would stay behind to track down the FINAL BATTLE between ENGLISH'S SHIP and the FIRST SUPERGATE'S BUILDERS. Then, you would all return to the future armed with that knowledge.  
  
Still, you can't help but be a little CONCERNED and NERVOUS.  
  
There's so much potential for everything to go SIDEWAYS.

* * *

 

"This isn't right," Your name is XEFROS TRITOH and... yeah. "This really isn't right."  
  
"Damn straight this isn't right," Dammek says, glaring at the LARGE TREE where an empty spot of land should be. "There's a TREE here already!"  
  
"Do we have to knock it down?" Mallek asks. "'Cause we should probably knock it down."  
  
"Hold yer muscle beasts, Mallek," Daraya says, taking out a small scanner from a bag sitting on the Dragonfly's rear seat. "Let's just check first and see if we even need to do anything or not. For all we know the damned stone is already down there."  
  
"Do you really think we time looped ourselves Again?" You ask.  
  
"Well, maybe?" The Jade Blooded girl shrugs. "I mean, we haven't confirmed if the address is legitimate or not yet, so I don't see why we would burry it now without ensuring it works first."  
  
A few moments later, the Scanner is turned on, and pointed at the base of the annoyingly out of time tree...  
  
The Scanner DINGS.  
  
"It made a ding," Mallek frowns, "what's that mean?"  
  
"It means it picked up a large stone object at the same depth as the one Latula finds in the future," Daraya holds out the device so you can all look at the screen.  
  
Indeed, there's a DULL VOID SHAPE among the TANGLED ROOTS of the tree that matches the shape of the LARGE STONE TABLET that had that Nine Symbol Gate Address carved on it.  
  
"...We time looped ourselves. AGAIN," you hang your head in dismay. "Why the hell would be do that?"  
  
"Well, possibly we need to confirm the Address is legitimate before we bury it," Daraya says, turning off the scanner and putting it back in its bag. "I'd say it just makes sense to ensure the information doesn't emerge out of thin air. But hey, what do I know?"   
  
"What I'm wondering now," Dammek says, "Is how else do we POSSIBLY get a nine symbol address?"  
  
That... yeah, that is a mystery that's now a thing for sure.  
  
You get on the radio. "Hey, Joey? We've got a problem."

* * *

 

"Sorry, I've got to take this," Joey says, walking over to the ladder and climbing down out of Latula's hut, leaving you- CALLIE OHPHEE- Mierfa, and Tyzias sitting with the elder Teal Blood.  
  
"So," Latula says, looking over your group. "Time Travel again, hm?"  
  
"Yup," you nod.  
  
"I'm not even going to ask what you could possibly need to do, so I won't," she says.  
  
"That's probably for the best," you say.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ALREADY PLANTED IT!?" Joey suddenly yells from outside.   
  
"...Not, even, going, to ask," Latula repeats after a moment of silence.

After about another hour of pleasant chatting, Joey says it's time to pack up and head to the campsite.

* * *

 

"Camp," as it turned out, would end up being just four tents strung high up in the trees out of reach of the DANGEROUS RAZORTEETH CREATURES living on Haven.  
  
Likely won't be too comfortable, but it won't be for too terribly long, all things considered.  
  
Still, you find a rope ladder that leads up to a GREEN COLORED TENT, and take residence inside.  
  
Not surprisingly, a few minutes later, someone climbs up to join you- and that someone ends up being Dammek.  
  
"The only other tent that had an open space was Xefros'," he informs you before you can say anything, "and I'm not sharing a tent with him."  
  
"Fair enough," You say, and make room for your Moirail to set up.

* * *

 

A quick Gate Trip back to Alternia confirms the Gate's current location (Still out in a field, just a different field that isn't next to a legal building that colapsed) and the exact date that you arrived at (via newspaper).  
  
"The end of the revolt isn't for another few months," You confirm to your teammates as you join them around a small campfire. "And the first of the deaths we're here to circumvent isn't for another three days, or so."  
  
"So..." Joey begins. "Let's talk about the elephant in the room." She jabs a thumb over her shoulder at the tree. "Theories, anyone?"  
  
"I'm guessing we find the address sometime on This Trip," Tyzias volunteers. "Thus, have to schedule a trip back to burry it even further back."  
  
"Agreed," Dammek nods. "I've been thinking it over, and that makes the most sense to me. We'll probably find it during our recon session for English's snake ship, and have to get back to the future before we have a chance to bury it."  
  
"Or it's possible we don't find it at all on this trip," you say.  "I think it might be entirely possible we schedule it as the very last time loop we ever do."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Xefros asks.  
  
"That tree is at least fifty sweeps old at its present state," you say. "Latula says she hasn't seen anyone in the intervening time since I left, so we likely avoided talking to her. The only reason I can think to do that, beyond maintaining a stable time loop, is if we're suddenly a LOT older, or we sent someone she doesn't know to do the burying."  
  
"Which would beg the questions of why wait so long or why send someone new?" Tyzias nods. "That makes sense."  
  
"Or it could have just been one of us," Daraya says, motioning at herself, Tyzias, and Mallek. "This is the first time we've met her chronologically for both sides. She might have attacked us if she saw us in the past."  
  
"Whatever the reason," Joey says, "it's not our problem for this mission."  
  
"Agreed," Mierfa nods. "Let's focus on who we're rescuing first. Three days, you said?"  
  
"Yeah," you nod. "There's going to be a fight at a Carnival that ends up with the recorded deaths of..."  
  
And so you all begin planning the rough stages of your plan- and the next few days are filled with boring RECON MISSIONS until the day finally arrives.  
  
But that's a story for another chapter. Let's check back in with SG-1 for a while, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ........
> 
> Another freaking Clown. 
> 
> ... Damn it, Trollcall, give me some other trolls to work with! And yes, I know you gave me an Indigo blood today too, but that's just ONE troll! I need more non clowns to work with!! I don't need THREE CLOWNS! >_<; ESPECIALLY IN A ROW! TmT that's just plain overkill.


	16. SG1:03X12: A Horse with No Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolinar really did not want to go on this mission.

**MARCH 22ND, 1997.**  
  
Your name is JOLINAR OF MALKSHUR, the TOK'RA AMBASSADOR to EARTH...  
  
**"We need to know, Jolinar,"** Lantash says, **"how did you escape Sokar before?"**  
  
...But you honestly feel like you're nothing less than a common criminal at the moment, being pushed for the answer like this, already on a TEL'TAK CARGO SHIP flying towards the last place you ever wanted to return to...  
  
You're not proud of that little moment in your life. But if it weren't for the fact that JACOB CARTER and SELMAK are in the Sokar's clutches in his quote unquote "HELL" on the Prison Moon of NETU? You wouldn't answer at all.  
  
**"The honest truth is that..."** You shake your head. **"It was something worse than all the torture and pain I'd ever gone through there. I... had to convince someone on the inside to let me into their private chambers,** " you answer in a half truth. **"They had a ring platform that I used it to get away and it let me steal the Tel'tak the Tok'ra found me in afterwards."**  
  
**"So you seduced whoever this was for the Ring Platform,** " Lantash gives you a flat look.  
  
**"...In so many words, yes?"** You admit.  
  
Lantash shakes his head, and goes quiet. A moment later, Martouf speaks. "And Rosha? Was she accepting of this?"  
  
**"She was just desperate to get back to you,"** you say.  
  
"I see..." Martouf nods, understanding.  
  
"So," COLONEL O'NEILL asks. "Who's this guy with the rings?"  
  
**"Bynarr,"** you say. **"Lord of Netu."**  
  
Martouf flinches for several moments- as if suddenly baring the brunt of an enraged yell... Lantash, no doubt, making his annoyance known.  
  
_'This is getting awkward,'_ Carter remarks within your head. _'REALLY awkward.'_  
  
You sigh, internally, and lament an agreement.  
  
"Ah..." O'neill nods as he takes in the scene. "The Secretary of Hell, huh?"  
  
**"Not really a secretary, but... um... Basically,"** you agree with his statement.  
  
"Aiming a bit high, don't you think?" O'neill asks.  
  
**"They're the only set of rings that exist on the moon,"** you tell him. **"It's the only place TO aim."**  
  
"She has a point about that," Skaara says up from the front of the Tel'tak. "Gotta go for where there's a weakness to begin with."  
  
"Indeed," Teal'c, who's piloting the ship through hyperspace, agrees.  
  
**"Thank you,"** you say.  
  
"That said," Skaara continues, "How are we going to do this? We have to first get onto the moon, find Selmak and Jacob, break them out, convince this Bynarr to let us use his Rings again and... what? Have Teal'c intercept the matter stream with the Cargo Ship?"  
  
"When you put it like that," O'neill says, "it sounds easy!"  
  
"Only in so far as a plan A," Martouf says. "If we fail and get captured, and cannot create a second escape plan, Teal'c has to return to the Tok'ra Council to report back with anything we've managed to tell him."  
  
"And stage a rescue mission of our own," Teal'c surmises.  
  
"More than likely, the Council will decide to destroy the moon from orbit, somehow," Martouf says, "but in the unlikely chance they think rescuing us is in the cards? Sure."  
  
Carter signals to you that she wishes to speak, and you trade control back over.  
  
"Wonderful," O'neill says. "This plan just gets better and better. What's next? We use the Rings to transport down to this guy's office to begin with?"  
  
"Actually," Carter says. "I was thinking we just use the Escape Pods to get down to the moon's surface."  
  
"Well, there's no way THAT can go wrong," O'neill says.  
  
A beeping from the pilot's console draws your attention to the windshield as Teal'c reports, "Dropping out of Hyperspace."  
  
With a SHUDDERING JOLT, the Tel'tak exits Hyperspace and you see a PLANET and a MOON and a WHOLE LOT OF FLYING PYRAMIDS.  
  
"Really wish we had a cloaking device on this ship," O'neill mutters.  
  
"Yes, it is a shame we could not scavenge the cloaking generator from Aris Boch's Tel'tal, Colonel O'neill," Teal'c agrees. "It would have been very useful for this mission."  
  
As it was, Teal'c seems to be weaving you on an EXPERT COURSE past the various HA'TAK and AL'KESH vessel's SENSOR ARRAYS. You can only hope that nobody saw you exit hyperspace.  
  
"So you said this moon's terraformed, right?" Skaara asks as he peers out the windows at the rapidly approaching MOON.  
  
It's black and red- BURNT TO A CRISP where it's not COVERED IN LAVA FLOWS.  
  
Netu. Sokar's recreation of the Mythological HELL. You writhe in dismay at the sight of it.  
  
"Let's get ready to jump," O'neill decides. "Teal'c, bring us in close to somewhere that's not on fire, please?"  
  
"I will attempt my best to do so," Teal'c says.  
  
And so with that, Carter, Martouf, Skaara, and Colonel O'neill head to the escape pods, and wait for Teal'c to give the all clear to launch.  
  
You really, REALLY, do not want to be here. But, hopefully, the plan will go off without a hitch.  


* * *

 

Unsurprisingly, things don't go to plan at all.  
  
You're captured by Bynarr's FIRST PRIME, NA'ONAK, but you're put in the same cell that JACOB CARTER is in. There, you learn confirmation of what you feared by seeing such a large FLEET- Sokar plans on attacking the other System Lords and taking over the GALAXY.  
  
You tell Teal'c this, and he ensures that he will relay the information to the Tok'ra council incase you cannot escape.  
  
Then, Bynarr takes Carter into his personal chambers, and by extension, YOU.  
  
**"Hello again, Jolinar,"** Bynarr smirks at you. **"You were a damned fool to come back here after what you did. As if you thought you could escape again?"**  
  
And so you're forced to talk.  
  
**"I really did not want to come back,"** you say, **"but you captured my Host's Father. I'd rather intervene than not."**  
  
**"I saw that,"** Bynarr says, motioning over at a MEMORY RECALL DEVICE over on a console. **"I thought myself _SO FORTUNATE_ to have captured him."**  
  
**"Let my team go,"** you say. **"Let my host go. You have me now. Just... let them all go."**  
  
**"I could,"** Bynarr laughs. **"However, I think your betrayal deserves-"**  
  
And then everything goes to HELL, quite literally, as Bynarr's FIRST PRIME suddenly barges into the room and levels his staff weapon at Bynarr.  
  
**"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THI-?"** Bynarr doesn't even manage to get the full sentence out of his mouth before NA'ONAK shoots him in the face with a loud and fiery _**PCHOOOO!**_  
  
And. He's. Down.  
  
**"What the hell?"** you say as you stare at the now dead Goa'uld. Carter echoes your sentiments mentally, but... a lot more freely.  
  
**"Take her back to her cell,"** Na'onak says, directing some JAFFA to take you back to the cell with the others in it.  
  
From there, you let Carter explain what happened, trying to work out the puzzle yourself.  
  
You can't see how today could get any worse.

* * *

 

As it turns out?

An escape plan WAS hatched and nearly executed.  
  
A ring control platform, 90% hot wired.  
  
Teal'c? Chased out of the system by Death Gliders.  
  
And Na'onak- meaning "No Name"- actually has a name that isn't 'Na'onak'...

It's APOPHIS.  
  
...Yeah.  
  
Things got worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another short one. NOT one of my favorite episodes to review, here, and neither is the next one. But, they are necessary fixed points that didn't get butterflied away. Adapted only the scenes that got changed up. 
> 
> Thankfully, a few good butterflied SG-1 episodes come up after this. *Mutters about needing to spend time on SG-1's side while waiting for Troll Call to give some GOOD USABLE TROLLS THAT AREN'T CLOWNS*


	17. SG1:03x13: The Devil You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teal'c mounts a rescue mission.

**MARCH 22ND, 1997.**  
  
Your name is TEAL'C.  
  
Outwardly, you are the face of a calm, stoic Jaffa with a PLAN.  
  
Inwardly? You're panicking. Just a little.  
  
If that last transmission you received was accurate- Apophis is risen from the grave, and is already working to overthrow SOKAR and take control of his fleet.  
  
Also. Yeah. Sokar's got a fleet and plans to destroy the SYSTEM LORDS.  
  
You're not sure which is the LESSER OF TWO EVILS. Apophis regaining a foothold, or Sokar killing everyone?  
  
Truthfully, both seem EQUALLY TERRIFYING.  
  
You feel like this is the kind of situation that will afford you a chance to send a message back to Earth once you return to the current Tok'ra home base.

* * *

 

The Tok'ra council debate what to do, giving you an opportunity to do just that. You dial Earth and touch bases via radio.  
  
"Why does it always have to be giant space fleets," GENERAL HAMMOND sighs, asking what you presume to be a RHETORICAL QUESTION. "Okay. We'll prepare a few messages to send to Yu's and 'Nirrti's' neutral meeting places, and we'll let them inform the other System Lords of the problem as they sees fit. But I'm not going to send it until I hear back from you or the Tok'ra confirming what the end result is. I don't want to be spreading misinformation, after all."  
  
"I understand completely, General Hammond," you say. "If either Apophis or Sokar survive today, it would be best for us to be properly prepared."  
  
To be honest, you don't like the idea of sharing such information with the System Lords, but since it is concerning SOKAR and APOPHIS... well.  
  
You feel torn on the inside.  
  
Hopefully the Tok'ra have come up with a solution to this by now.

* * *

 

Their solution is to throw a device at Netu, which would burrow to the core, and then destroy its core- and thus the entire moon- within twelve minutes.  
  
Ideally, it is to be sent while Sokar is on one of his ships, but otherwise? It's just going to WRECK the entire fleet in orbit.  
  
You only protest against it in so far until the point they agree to let you fly the weapon in personally.  
  
You'll set that thing off only once you're sure SG-1 is on their way to escape.

* * *

 

You arrive in the system just in time to recieve a transmission from COLONEL O'NEILL. (Never before have you been so glad to have had Nirrti of all Goa'uld volunteer forth a SHORT RANGE SUBSPACE COMMUNICATOR that could be installed beneath the skin, and you will never again mention this outside of this one thought.)  
  
_"Teal'c, if you're out there listening, Martouf's convinced Apophis that the Tok'ra are hidden on another planet, and he's literally going to speak with Sokar on his ship right this minute. We're going to try and make a break for the ring platform so get in position."_  
  
"I am here, Colonel O'neill," you say, a rare smile forming on your face. "And I have a device the Tok'ra have allowed me to personally deliver against Sokar and Apophis. If you can make it to the ring platform within twelve minutes, I will launch this device now."  
  
_"We can manage twelve minutes,"_ O'neill answers.  
  
And with that, you charge in towards the BOILING MOON of NETU, and activate the ring platform.  
  
As you zip away, you watch as the LARGE DEVICE tumbles towards the planet's surface and then- of all the luck- lands inside an active volcano caldera.  
  
If you took the time to do the math, you suspect that should significantly speed things up by a considerably large amount.  
  
You don't do the math, however, and instead take off for the BUILDING you know the ring platform is going to emerge from.  
  
As you fly, the planet begins to BUBBLE AND CRACK- the bomb already doing more damage than it otherwise would have thanks in part to Sokar's TERRAFORMING.  
  
What an Idiot. It NEVER pays off to muck around with a planet- or moon as the case may be- to the point that it has multiple volcanoes on its surface that weren't there naturally.  
  
This place would probably have exploded on its own anyways, eventually.  
  
Death Gliders, of course, come chasing in after you, but you don't have to worry about them.  
  
MIRACULOUSLY, a mountain explodes beneath you in just such a way that the swarm of Gliders are utterly WRECKED by burning lava, but the shields on your Tel'tak are able to withstand.  
  
Somewhere, out there, you get the feeling someone is laughing and telling those dead Glider Pilots that they should have heeded a previous warning about operating on a LAVA PLANET.  
  
_"Teal'c, Beaming up NOW!"_ O'neill's voice echoes out of the nearest speakers.  
  
And then you see it- a RING TRANSMAT BEAM shooting upwards towards a LARGE HA'TAK that's about to get obliterated by lava and large pieces of MOON ROCK.  
  
You expertly swoop in the Tel'tak to intercept the RING TRANSMAT BEAM and it WORKS!  
  
The rest of your team- with the welcome addition of JACOB CARTER- materialize in the cargo hold, and you PUNCH THE ENGINES to maximum speed.  
  
Thus, you watch with the utmost care as the ship you suspect is SOKAR'S PERSONAL FLAGSHIP is obliterated by an exploding moon...  
  
And so too are the rest of the ships in close enough orbit SIMILARLY DESTROYED.  
  
You can only hope that Apophis was on one of them.  
  
"You know," you hear Jacob Carter remarking as Carter helps set him down in the empty chair next to you, "why don't we take a father-daughter vacation? I hear Alaska is cold this time of year."  
  
"So's Antarctica," Carter jokes.  
  
"Hey," O'neill says- warily.  
  
You smile, even as Skaara tiredly leans against the frame of the wall next to you, and remarks, "Well. That was a day. Can we not do it again any time soon?"  
  
"It was indeed a day," you agree.  
  
It's good to have them back safe and sound after this last scare of a mission.

* * *

 

"We're leaving a message for the System Lords on Yu's neutral zone planet," General Hammond begins but a few short hours later, back on Earth, in the Briefing room. "Sokar is almost certainly dead, and a large portion of his fleet destroyed with him, but he or Apophis might have survived and may rebuild their power base within the coming months. Hopefully, if either of them show their faces and attempt to pick a fight, they'll be receiving one hell of a surprise."  
  
"As much as I hate to say it," Colonel O'neill says, sitting tiredly in his own chair next to you. "If little miss Jayni out there decides she wants to take revenge on Apophis for Nirrti's stolen technology, I wouldn't so much as bat an eye."  
  
"Agreed," you say, feeling a brief bit of anger sparking in your heart. "If Apophis yet lives, he will soon learn to regret it."  
  
"In other news," General Hammond says, "while you were all gone we received another message burst from Alternia. Not as large of a one, but still comparable in size."  
  
"We did?" Major Carter asks, sounding surprised. "When?"  
  
"Shortly after Teal'c checked in from Vorash," General Hammond answers. "Roxy Egbert took to work to start decompressing it immediately, since she was on base at the time."  
  
"Anything good?" Colonel O'neill asks.  
  
"Nothing yet beyond a small text document apologizing for the delay due to not having a solid solution to shaking problems they experienced the last time they dialed out," Hammond says.  
  
"Huh," Colonel O'neill remarks. "Well, okay then."  
  
"I wonder what's changed in the last..." Major Carter quickly does the math in her head. "Nine months? It was three since we received it before we sent our own reply message, then six months since."  
  
"A great many things will have changed, Major Carter," you observe. "It has been nine months, after all."  
  
A lot can change in just a hundred days, let alone nine months, after all.

* * *

 

It doesn't take too much longer for the first video to finish decoding, and Joey Claire once more appears on the conference room's projector screen.  
  
_"Hey, everyone!"_ She gives a smile- though it's tempered by loss. _"Well... I guess not everyone. I still can't believe Pa..."_ She quickly wipes at her eyes as she sniffs. _"Anyways! Hah. Yeah. First message we're recording after receiving your reply. There's... a few older videos you should probably watch next, but... yeah. First video. Yay."_  
  
Even to your ears, she does not sound all that happy.  
  
Not that she would be, given that she just learned of her father's death several months earlier by way of VIDEO TRANSMISSION.  
  
_"So, yeah. We just got back from a huge mission- report's in here somewhere- Roxy's probably going to love it. Lots of Time Travel. Lots of... Spacey things. Heh."_ Joey shakes her head again, and then takes a deep breath. _"I don't know when you're going to see this video- how long it'll be or- Well. There's probably going to be more urgent stuff you guys need to look at from later on- we should probably mark that, I guess."_  
  
You glance over at JUDE HARLEY, sitting in his own chair, watching with an intense gaze fixed upon the recording of his sister. Next to him sits ROXY EGBERT, looking a bit teary eyed.  
  
_"Um. Right. So... I guess I should say thanks for the instructions for the miniature power generator thing?"_ Joey smiles. _"Salazl was drooling just looking at the designs. Where did you get them, anyways? I'll bet we probably have our own version running by the time we send this message forwards... whenever that will be. Salazl's still working on the stabilizers to make sure the Gate won't shake everything apart next time we dial out."_  
  
A problem seemingly fixed as of now, you observe to yourself.  
  
_"Anyways, yeah."_ Joey laughs- a slightly hollow laugh. _"Direct replies? Short ones for the moment, bigger ones later once I process this. Hey, Roxy! You got Married!? To my COUSIN!?"_ She stares at the camera, confused for a moment. _"What the hell! Now I have to call you... what? My Cousin-in-law?? What even is the right term for this?? Also, I'm an Aunt now too?"_ She laughs. _"I just... wow. Talk about a surprise. I wish I could meet them in person. Maybe someday soon, yeah?"_  
  
"I hope so," Roxy whispers, and you notice TEARS brimming slightly in her eyes.  
  
_"Jude!"_ Joey glares at the camera, and then yells, **"JUDE HARLEY.** _DID YOU SERIOUSLY._ ***SERIOUSLY.*** _HELP THROW A BOMB AT A FUCKING BLACK HOLE!?"_  
  
You hear Jude choke up suddenly upon being called out like that.  
  
_"YOU'D BETTER NOT PULL ANY MORE STUNTS LIKE THAT, OKAY!?"_ Joey continues to yell. _"YOU GOTTA BE THERE FOR THAT LITTLE GIRL YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF! YOU GOTTA BE THERE TO RAISE HER! BECAUSE OUR LITTLE SISTER IS SUPER ADORABLE AND CLEARLY NEEDS TO BE LOVED AND WRAPPED UP IN BLANKETS AND KEPT SAFE FROM EVERYTHING WRONG IN THE UNIVERSE! DO! YOU! HEAR! ME!?"_  
  
"YES, MA'AM!" Jude yells out. "I HEAR YOU, MA'AM!"  
  
Joey pauses on the video, then smiles. _"Good. And if any of the biological family members of this adorable little girl happen to be listening in at any point in time?"_  
  
You glance over at Skaara as he coughs nervously.  
  
_"You'd best have some damn good reasons for not wanting to raise her otherwise I'm gonna..."_ Joey then raises up the glowing bracelet on her left wrist- each of the gems glow menacingly. _**"GIVE YOU HAIR THAT CHANGES COLOR ALL ON ITS OWN!!!"** _ And then she starts laughing- laughing at the absurdity of her own statement.  
  
It's such a childish punishment and her own reaction to such statement, that reminds you all at once that this is still just a YOUNG GIRL who was sent to for all intents and purposes is a DEATH WORLD.  
  
"...Is that even a thing that she can do?" Skaara asks, meekly, glancing at Roxy.  
  
"Skarra, hun," Roxy smiles a feline like smile. "She's got magic wings that defy physics. I'm sure she can do whatever the hell she wants."  
  
Once Joey calms down somewhat, and wipes a few tears from her eyes, she smiles, sadly, and says. _"Oh. Wow. Did I really just go full Alternian Heiress there for a moment? Hah. I think I did. Ree's rubbing off on me, I guess."_ She takes a deep, stabilizing breath, then says, _"So, yeah. Jude, I really miss you too. I hope I can come through with this next message but we might not have the time to do it. Things are... things are complicated right now. Mofangplicators everywhere, giant Supergates being built, and let's not forget one incredibly stupid moron pretending to be a giant snake god possibly returning from an intergalactic exile."_  
  
"Giant Snake God?" O'neill repeats, sounding put on edge.  
  
_"So. Yeah. When we get the chance to send this message out, we might be pretty much neck deep fighting somebody, and I can't excuse leaving in the middle of that."_ Joey says, sounding very sad. _"I'd love to come home, but... we'll see what happens, yeah? And hey, maybe the next time you guys send a message back to us, it'll be in person? Yeah? Maybe."_ She smiles. _"I sure hope so, at any rate. I-"_ she looks upwards at a wall as some ALTERNIAN SPEAK comes through a loud speaker. Then she sighs, and says, _"Well, I gotta go. So... yeah. Okay. Talk to you guys later! Bye!!"_  
  
And then she reaches for the camera, and the video ends.  
  
"It wasn't just me, right?" Colonel O'neill asks. "She said 'giant snake god'?"  
  
"Indeed she did say the words 'giant snake god,' Colonel O'neill," you say.  
  
"Damn it," Colonel O'neill sighs. "I was hoping I imagined that."  
  
You refrain from stating that he did, in fact, not imagine it. You do, however, comment, "I similarly hope that it is not a Goa'uld presence in this other galaxy."  
  
"That'd be just what we need, wouldn't it?" Skaara remarks, tiredly. "Threats from one galaxy migrating over to another, making new friends everywhere."

"What I'm more concerned by," Major Carter says, "is 'Supergate'. Does she mean what I think she means?"  
  
Silence falls across the room as you all process the implications of a single word.  
  
Nobody else seems to want to say anything so... uh...  
  
"Most probably she meant a super sized Stargate, Major Carter," you say, grimly, because, yeah, that's where your mind wandered with that term too.

"...Why the hell would anyone want to build one of those for?" Roxy Egbert asks.

"Nothing good," General Hammond grimaces. "Nothing good at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY. Another Message in a Bottle! First message is set just SLIGHTLY ahead of current Alternia timeline. Which means we're CATCHING UP! :D Soon... SOON the two halves of the story will be in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER! :D:D:D


	18. SG1:03x14: Foothold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go the same, and yet different.

**MARCH 29TH, 1997.**  
  
Your name is HARRY MAYBOURNE, and you honestly just...  
  
You are shaken to your core.  
  
"Colonel O'neill" and "Major Strider" lay dead- but their disgusies have been DISABLED and they look like... like...  
  
Like ALIENS.  
  
"What the hell are these things?" You ask of MAJOR SAMANTHA CARTER, who, up until this moment, you thing was CRAZY.  
  
"Mofang," Carter scowls at the one with SKAARA'S appearance- the one she's pointing a gun at. "They're from another Galaxy. The same one Alternia is in."  
  
The one pretending to be Skaara scowls in return. "And just how do you know that name?"  
  
"If you were really Skaara, you'd know exactly how," Carter says, a little bit angry. "Now how the HELL did you get into our Galaxy?" She adds to the intimidation by priming the little hand gun- CLICK.  
  
"We traced a rogue matter stream," the Not-Skaara says. "One of ours that went wild during a battle. We figured we could hide out in that Galaxy. This Galaxy. So we launched a bunch of ships and left our home behind to the Replicators. They already owned most of it anyways."  
  
His FORM flickers with a brief surge in the hum of the PLANE ENGINES, revealing another one of those aliens.  
  
"Look! We didn't realize you were allies of Alternia!" Not Skaara says. "We just saw some Aliens we could disguise ourselves as come through the Gate on the planet we settled on and thought- Why not!?"  
  
"...You thought to conquer an alien planet just because?" You ask, startled.   
  
"Not... conquer, exactly??" The Alien Not-Skaara shrugs. "We, look, we just..." he clearly sees neither of you are buying it. "BAH! Fine! Yes, we wanted to restart our empire! We had to run because our last hope at resettling on a new home world was scuttled by our own Emperor- who DIED in the attempt! Alternia didn't believe us when we said he was dead so we just flat out LEFT it all behind or else we'd be wiped out of existence! So we sent a small invasion force here to figure out if we could use it as another potential homeworld."  
  
"What about the rest of the SGC?" Carter asks. "What did you do with the PEOPLE?"  
  
"They're fine!" Not-Skaara says. "We have them hooked up to a machine that lets us access their surface thoughts and it stabilizes-" his form flickers again. "...Mostly stabilizes our appearances. Damn it all, this is what we get for using another alien race's technology. How did we miss something as simple as a frequency resonance!?"  
  
"If you have access to their minds, why didn't you find out about our ties to Alternia sooner?" Carter asks.  
  
"...It's new technology we're not used to, and a lot of us are squeamish with mind tampering after what our Emperor did to us." Not Skaara syas. "You see if YOU want to dig into someone else's minds after that sort of thing. The most any of us were comfortable with was reading their language centers for how to talk the local language."  
  
"You keep saying this stuff is 'new technology,'" you point out. "Where did you get it from, exactly?"  
  
"Uninhabited planets in this galaxy seemed to be at a premium," Not Skaara says. "So we settled on a world that seemed uninhabited... turns out we weren't the only ones. We thought they were local, and they thought WE were local. We fought, they lost, and we claimed their technology to add to our own reserves. And their star maps. You wouldn't believe how far out they actually came from!"  
  
"Try me," Carter says.  
  
"Well, if Alternia's Galaxy is about three of your 'Earth months' of solid travel time non stop?" Not Skaara does some math in his head, then says, "They were traveling for A YEAR non stop before they found your galaxy."  
  
"That's..." You look to Carter. "That's pretty far."  
  
"Yeah, I'll say it is," Carter frowns. "What would your leader do if we told them we were friends with Alternia?"  
  
"...Probably rig the base's self destruct and blow everyone up?" Not Skaara says, and he withers under yours and Carter's glares. "Listen! Listen! We're just skittish! We're not. We're not confident. We're afraid. We were loosing our home planet to some of our military weapons breaking free of its chains and running rampant. We lost our chance at a second home because our Emperor got into a pissing contest with Alternia's Emperess! We don't have anything but our lives and those might as well be forfeit with you knowing we exist!"  
  
"Cornered like Rats," you muse.  
  
"What would happen if we shut down your disguises?" Carter asks, pressing onwards.  
  
"We..." Not Skaara considers it for a moment. "We might flee, actually. Our Current Leader would see it as a weakness of the Alien's technology and would tell us to abandon the mission. We'd return to the planet we came from."  
  
"Good," Carter nods. "I can work with that."  
  
You look to Carter, and ask, "You have a plan, don't you."  
  
"You bet your ass we do," Carter says, and apparently she and Jolinar are feeling vindictive enough to flash their eyes, all Goa'uld style, at the Not Skaara, who whimpers at the sight.  
  
"Oh please don't tell me that's common to ALL the natives of this planet!" Not Skaara whines.   
  
"Oh, of course it is," you say, playing up the alien's terror. "Most of us just don't use it unless we feel like showing off."  
  
"Just what kind of hell galaxy is this?!" He yells out in terror.  
  
"Maybourn, don't Troll him," Carter says. "That's the Alternian's job."  
  
Oh. Haha. "Good one, Major," you smirk as the Alien freaks out a bit.

* * *

 

Your name is JUDE HARLEY, and you had a hint that something strange was up the minute Jade AND Nepeta both started fussing when Davis got called away suddenly for a 'medical emergency.'  
  
So... you took the two tykes down to the Quantum Mirror room, locked the door, and waited inside.   
  
You'd wait a while. If your HUNCH TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT, then you'd jump through the mirror with the kids to the alternate reality that the Mirror was perpetually attuned to for a few hours visit, possibly for longer, and wait for SG-1 to return and set things right.  
  
Of course, THAT option was thrown right out when the Alternate Joey came through the Mirror of her own accord, complaining about ALIENS that disguised themselves as members of one of her world's SGC teams.   
  
Apparently, she'd said that some kind of NEW SENSOR they were TESTING for use around the Stargate had ruined some IMPRESSIVE DISGUISES and caused a bit of a fire fight which she was DUCKING OUT OF THE WAY OF while it transpired.   
  
So... you decided to take the opportunity to catch your sister's alternate self up on your universes version of her.   
  
It was a nice distraction. It kept both of your minds off of REPEATED ALIEN INVASIONS until, suddenly, a loud, HIGH PITCHED SOUND emerged from the nearest wall mounted speakers- which made Nepeta cry like mad due to her sensitive CAT EARS.   
  
Then, you hear some ALIEN VOICES yelling over the intercoms as the GATE ALARM activates. Then but a minute later... The sonic sound and the Gate Alarm both just stop.  
  
On the other side of the Quantum Mirror, you observe the base on the other side SHAKE SUDDENLY, as if something had EXPLODED.  
  
You and your Alternate Sister give each other considering looks, and you decide to go check out your respective bases, as it's entirely possible that the situations had stabilized.  
  
As a matter of course, your Alternate Sister would find out that most of the INVADERS on her side of the mirror had SELF DESTRUCTED and left quite a GRISLY MESS in the Gate Room there.  
  
On your side, you'd find that the INVADERS had all turned tail and RAN FOR THE GATE.   
  
...You'd find out, of course, that while Major Carter had made the sonic device that would unveil the holograms, COLONEL O'NEILL and MAJOR DAVIS had gone and done something SNEAKY, and had used a program Carter had written to temporarily compromise the Base's Dialing Computer so that it would send the first address dialed out to a planet that had a MISSING DHD instead of what the Aliens wanted as their next destination- P3X-118, as you'd find out.   
  
That planet was then blacklisted in both Realities from the Dialing Computers to disallow anyone to dial out from there, or to dial in and NOBODY would ever talk about it again.  
  
In fact, what were you just talking about? Nothing except a surprise visit from your ALTERNATE SISTER, of course, and nothing at all involving SERIOUS SECURITY BREACHES or a CAPTURED ALIEN to use as a possible bargaining chip for any future ENCOUNTERS with the Mofang.  
  
That'd just be insane, wouldn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not in a good mood. Putting this out now while I still have time tonight.


	19. ALT:03X08: Descend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Joey says 'screw it' to Historical accuracy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And to which I say 'Screw it' to waiting for Wednesday for names. It's been a long enough gap without an update as it is! AND! It's not like I need any that I haven't already been given for THIS SEQUENCE! :U
> 
> ([S]DESCEND)

The GRAND CARNIVAL of THRASHBURG was, at this point in time, going to be home to the GRUESOME MURDERS of some REBEL SCUM who had been captured by the LOCAL HIGHBLOODS.   
  
It was to be a SPECTACLE- one held as the SUN ROSE. Which would claim the Rebel's lives FIRST? The SUN, or an EXECUTIONER'S AX?  
  
If everything went according to the SUMMONER'S plan... neither.   
  
But that's not how history recorded it. While a lot of the Rebels were rescued, a FEW CERTAIN ONES were murdered, and it's those certain ones who you and yours are here to rescue.  
  
Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you're about to help launch a PRISON BREAK. You have ARAI all over the place, even keeping an eye on a SUSPICIOUS ENCAMPMENT disguised as some FALLEN TREES and LEAF PILES.   
  
Naturally, you're able to find a certain ROYAL BLOODED TROLL polishing up a POINTY LOOKING TRIDENT. On her RIGHT WRIST is the SAME BRACELT you have on your LEFT WRIST. There's a [VARIATION of a FAMILIAR ZODIAC SIGN](http://hs.hiveswap.com/ezodiac/truesign.php?TS=Piun) on her shirt.  
  
 _"People we need to be on the look out for,"_ You recall Callie saying during the briefing, _"Reenah Kraken, the current Heiress of the era. We know she's allied with the Summoner's group, and that she makes an appearance during the fight. She has the Bracelet, so we can expect her to be a major power house in leading today's assault."_  
  
You feel a brief pull of resonance between your completed bracelet and hers- but the Heiress seems completely focused on her polishing. There's a sort of odd, CAREFREE look on her face in this moment, one that reminds you a bit of your LITTLE BROTHER JUDE when he got lost in his own little music worlds back home. Ah, the power of a good CD/CASSETTE PLAYER.  
  
You shift your view around their encampment, and find the next person to be aware of.  
  
 _"Aranea Serket,"_ Callie had continued. _"Also known as the Marquise Spinneret Mindfang. Latula and I have crossed paths with her once before and it'll probably be a good idea if I'm not seen by her if we can help it"_  
  
The CERULEAN BLOODED TROLL seems to be fawning over a LARGE, WHITE SCALED, RED EYED DRAGON, whom, you were informed, was almost certainly once LATULA'S LUSUS.  
  
She's talking with someone on the other side over the dragon, from what you can gather...  
  
Ah, and then he steps out into view, eyeing your ARAI BEETLE oddly.  
  
 _"Finally, Rufioh Nitram, the SUMMONER."_ Callie had concluded. _"He's got the same kind of Communion Powers that Dammek has, but to a much larger level. He also has wings, supposedly a strange mutation, but I suspect that there might be something else going on."_  
  
And wings does he have indeed. Large, huge, massive transparent bronze things larger than his entire body- but not quite nearly as large as his MASSIVE HORNS which stretch off to the side for QUITE a ways.  
  
How the hell does he lift them? You have no idea. Even if they were HOLLOW on the inside, that's still got to be a LOT OF WEIGHT and there's no way he's ever stepping foot inside any building with them.  
  
...Hell, there's no real way he'd ever step through a Stargate any way but sideways.  
  
He continues to stare at your ARAI BEETLE, either aware that it's a creature he CAN'T COMMUNE, or a creature he just simply has never seen before.  
  
"Reenah," you hear him speak. "Come here for a moment?"  
  
Oh. Well this is about to get interesting. The Heiress gets up and strolls over to them. "Sup?"  
  
"Did you create some new creatures?" The Summoner points at your Beetle.  
  
"Hrm?" She stares up at it. "Nope, can't say that I've made anything like that."  
  
"Can you connect with it?" He asks.   
  
"Oh, sure, the ol' 'insects don't show up for me' problem, right?" Reenah laughs. "Sure, sure..." She raises her right hand up, and her version of the bracelet pulses.  
  
And then you feel her start trying to pry into the mind of your Arai Beetle- and in turn, into your own mind.  
  
Your version of ADMINISTRATION is having none of that, however, and does something you'd really rather it hadn't.

* * *

 

There's a momentary flash of light as your perspective is suddenly yanked out of reality, and so is the Heiress's, and you both sort of find yourselves floating in a blank, empty expanse with a vaguely grey hue to it.  
  
"..." You stare at the Heiress, Reenah.  
  
"..." And she stares right back at you.  
  
Your two versions of the Bracelet in the mean time float in the gap between you, orbiting each other and  trading off information between the two of them.  
  
Then, with a flash of light again, the two bracelets return to your respective wrists, and you receive a small burst of data from your version of the Bracelet.  
  
Apparently this was a temporally locked moment that was always going to happen- your version of Administration just chose not to tell you it was going to happen until it actually happened. Yet another Stable Time Loop closed.  
  
The Heiress, likewise, got her own info dump, which possibly includes a WHOLE of a lot more than you got.  
  
"...What the fuck?" She says, finally speaking. "You're from the future!?"  
  
"Er, yeah," you say. "Don't know how much you heard from that just now, but, yeah. We just want to help without changing too much of our own history. Can you not blow our cover?"  
  
"...Well, damn. That's good to know." She shakes her head. "Yeah, fine. I won't say anything."

"Thank you!" you say, and then-

* * *

 

And then you're back to looking at her through the Arai Beetle's eyes. Reenah winks at it/you.   
  
"...Well?" The Summoner asks.  
  
"Scanned her memories. Just some bug that hitched a ride with some merchant through the Stargate by accident," Reenah says, and motions her hand as if to send it away. You take the hint and withdraw it. "Little gal and her swarm are really lost right about now. They're all over the danged carnival."  
  
You pull that Beetle back to you, but leave the rest scattered about, sticking to the hastily constructed cover story.  
  
You tab your radio and inform your team, "Welp. I just accidentally completed another time loop."

* * *

 

 _ **"WELCOME!"**_ the GRAND EXECUTIONER roars- throwing his arms out wide as he bellows out to all who could hear. _**"WELCOME, SCRUBS, TO THE MOTHER FUCKIN DARK CARNIVAL! TODAY WE'VE GOT A GRAND FUCKIN SHOW FOR Y'ALL! SO GATHER UP AT THIS BODACIOUS STAGE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! THE SHOW BEGINS IN FIVE MINUTES, SCRUBS!"**_  
  
From your AERIAL PERSPECTIVE, the crowd gathers, condensing around the SHOW STAGE, upon which SEVERAL HOODED TROLLS reside- their blood colors are all over the scale, going by the SIGNS on display.   
  
You see several whose signs match those who your team is set to rescue.   
  
You observe them in the crowd, dressed up in SPLASH COATS and most of them having made their way to the front row, seemingly because they want to be up close and personal to the carnage- the truth but also an illusion. A half truth, as it were.  
  
You yourself resided closer to the far back, with Callie and Xefros, out of the general 'line of sight' as it were.  
  
You draw in more ARAI BEETLES around the carnival's stage, as if to imply they merely curious about the large gathering of people. You spot some of the SUMMONER'S PEOPLE joining the crowd, eyeing them for a moment, before dismissing them.  
Good.  
  
The only one who doesn't, you notice, is a female figure cloaked in a violet robe marked with some nonsensical TROLL SIGN that you're pretty sure doesn't actually exist on any FORMAL LISTS. Her horns match those of the HEIRESS, REENAH KRAKEN, though, and you catch a glimpse of her bracelet under her sleeve.   
  
She smiles a strange kind of smile and you suddenly get a BAD FEELING about this upcoming situation.  
  
 _ **"THREE MINUTES, SCRUBS! GATHER ROUND OR YOU GET CULLED!"**_  
  
THAT gets people to come over in bulk.  
  
Soon, a GLEAMING LIGHT on the horizon makes people turn and shield their eyes, most, including the clowns on stage, pondering, is that the SUN already?  
  
 _ **"ALRIGHT YA SCRUBS! LOOKS LIKE EVEN THE SUN IS EAGER TO SEE WHAT WE'VE GOT IN STORE FOR Y'ALL TODAY!"**_ the GRAND EXECUTIONER yells out, seemingly thinking that yes, it is indeed that time already. _**"TODAY IS A MOMENTUS DAY! YOUR GIRL, CHAHUT, WILL BE PERFORMING THE FIRST EXECUTION TODAY! FINALLY LEAVING HER DAYS OF INDISCRIMINANTE SCRAPBOOKING BEHIND AND JOINING OUR GLORIOUS, BLOOD COATED RANKS AS A SUBJUGGALTOR! "**_  
  
Walking onto stage is a TROLL GIRL whose horns and hair are both WAVY and go way farther down than they have any right going down. Her face is covered in SKULL THEMED face paint- which would be somewhat amusing if not for the BLOOD of MULTIPLE HUES coating her legs and the AXE in her left hand.  
  
You've heard of this girl- CHAHUT MAENAD, Callie had called her. In the present day of FUTURE ALTERNIA, she's known by a few titles and served in active service to the EMPIRE. A BRUTAL FIGHT against some REAVERS left her stranded in space, after which time she apparently JOINED THEIR RANKS. Her DESCENDANT, UMARAK MAENAD, is known as THE DESTROYER and serves in the Alternian Empire in the present day, and is reported to have KILLED HIS WAYWARD ANCESTOR when she refused to return to the Empire's service.   
  
...All of THAT means that in the present day of PAST ALTERNIA,  she's going to live and basically be UNTOUCHABLE for the foreseeable encounter... Well, that is, unless something goes catastrophically wrong.   
  
Which, given the whole CLOWN THING... yeah, total wild card.

[The GLEAMING LIGHT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyDdV8eIHGE) raises HIGHER in the sky, but then a SECOND TWINKLING GLEAM follows it, which makes everyone realize that no that first light WASN'T the sun, the SECOND ONE IS.  
  
But that just begs the question...  
  
WHAT WAS THE FIRST LIGHT?

[0:11]  
  
That's when the mighty ROAR OF A DRAGON sounds out, and a nearby FERRIS WHEEL suddenly EXPLODES off of its frame and starts rolling off in a random direction to CAUSE TROUBLE, crushing a few TENTS along its merry path.  
  
[0:20]  
  
That's when the DRAGON LUSUS comes swooping into view, nearly crashing onto the stage, but doesn't. Instead THE SUMMONER and the MARQUISE leap off of its back and land on the stage- drawing their LANCE and TWIN CUTLASS SABERS to do battle with the CLOWNS.  
  
An INDIGO BLOODED TROLL GIRL leaps out of the AUDIENCE, and then SUPLEXES Chahut to the ground with INCREDIBLE STRENGTH. You believe her name, according to the briefing, is NIHKEE MOOLAH, and should survive this encounter relatively unscathed.  
  
[0:30]  
  
Dammek, Daraya, Tyzias, and Mallek jump onto the STAGE alongside a few other members of the SUMMONER'S CHILD ARMY and all of them rush to free the TRAPPED PRISONERS before they could be executed.  
  
Ropes are cut, and the group of prisoners are lead off in MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS by their rescuers, ostensibly to prevent themselves from being A LARGE TARGET- naturally, Damek's group leads their rescue-es off in a different direction than the one you, Callie, and Xefros are making your way towards- for you, to the NEXT names on your list that you're going to try to save.  
  
[0:42]  
  
That's when something goes wrong.  
  
NIHKEE cries out in shock as her LEFT LEG is suddenly CHOPPED OFF by CHAHUT'S AXE.  
  
The PURPLE BLOODED CLOWN looms dramatically over head, raising her axe in an attempt to finish off the girl.  
  
[0:56]  
  
REENAH swoops in, having dispatched her CLOWN OPPONENT, and blocks the downwards axe swing with her trident.  
  
From your Arai Beetle's perspective, you can see the Heiress crack a GRIN- the Bracelet pulses around her wrist- and then suddenly she's using a massive burst of IMPOSSIBLE STRENGTH to send Chahut sprawling backwards onto the stage.  
  
[1:05]  
  
You look to Xefros and Callie, and they nod in understanding. You leave an ARAI BEETLE with them to keep an eye on them, and they CONTINUE ON with their part of the mission.  
  
You race over, and drag the Indigo Blooded girl off of the stage, using a bit of your Bracelet's own SUPER STRENGTH to manage the feat.  
  
In all the chaos, you manage to get her to a safe place where you can start BANDAGING HER WOUND.  
  
[1:14]  
  
As you work, your attention is half drawn elsewhere in the fight by the Arai you left with Mierfa, who's presently WHACKING CLOWN HEADS with one of her NUNCHUCKS. You worry for just a moment, but then-  
  
Your worry is abated as you watch her leap onto one clown's back, SNAP OFF their LONG ASS, KNITTING NEEDLE LIKE HORNS and then stab the Giant Sized Clown Troll in the eyes with them. Brutal, but efficient.  
  
[1:22]  
  
You check in on Dammek's group and find that they're well on their way to getting their survivors OUT OF THE CARNIVAL- not so dark as the SUN begins peeking out properly over the horizon and BATHING THE LANDSCAPE IN GREEN LIGHT.  
  
Naturally, Dammek's given everyone spare SUNGLASSES that they can wear as they run in that direction and not get BLINDED. Where the hell he got so many of the things from, you have no idea and you're NOT GOING TO ASK in the middle of all of this.  
  
[1:42]  
  
You glance over at REENAH'S FIGHT with Chahut, and see that the Heiress is doing a decent job of holding her own. Meanwhile, the MARQUISE has finished her own opponent and has launched back onto the back of the DRAGON when it came into view again.   
  
She has a PLAN that you KNOW you're not going to like as you watch the DRAGON swoop upwards into the air.  
  
You decide to check back in with CALLIE and XEFROS, and find...  
  
Oh no.  
  
[1:54]  
  
One of the TWO TROLLS they were going to find seems to have been KILLED by ROLLING FERRIS WHEEL. Going by the SIGN and the LARGE GRIN on her face, even in death, this one would be BAIZLI SOLEIL. Which would make the surviving TWIN that Callie and Xefros are trying to talk to BARZUM SOLEIL. (You don't know why Tyzias insists on saving them, but she put their names on the list. Oh well, looks like only one of them is going to make it out of here today.)  
  
[2:06]  
  
You lend some aid to Callie and Xefros and use an Arai beetle to distract the troll into staring at a bright light- anything other than the MANGLED CORPSE of her sister- and use a little PSYCHIC PERSUASION through REGENT to get the troll moving.  
  
Frighteningly, you don't need much of Regent's control, as Barzum gets up and follows Callie and Xefros as they follow the Arai Beetle past EXPLODING STALLS, or exploding WHATEVERS towards the EXTRACTION POINT that Mierfa's been securing.  
  
[2:22]  
  
Speaking of, you look and see that Dammek's group has reached that point, and they're all SUCCESSFULLY ESCAPING the CARNIVAL.  
  
[2:42]

You hear a sudden HONK on your REAL LIFE side of things, and turn to watch in rapid fire attacks as Chahut gets the upper hand on the Heiress- having knocked her TRIDENT out of her hands and is using some kind of PSYCHIC ATTACK on the Heiress that seems to, at the very least, be giving her a headache.  
  
You make a decision, and DECAPTCHALOGUE your PLASMA CUTTER and summon your WINGS.  
  
You SOAR- crossing the distance in a fraction of a second that seems to draw out into eternity and you ROAR- causing Chahut to turn and look in surprise as you ignite the plasma cutter with a **SNAP _HISS_** that briefly-  
  
[3:00]  
  
HISSES with STEAM as it cuts its way through Chahut's neck, separating her head from her torso, and causing the clown to fall to the ground dead.  
You offer your LEFT HAND with the Bracelet to Reenah, who looks up at you with GLEAMING STARS in her eyes and then takes it.  
  
[3:08]  
  
That's when you hear the ROAR of SHIP ENGINES overwhelming everything.  
  
You look up and see that the DRAGON LUSUS is DUELING the SHIP, but having a HARD TIME getting through the shields.  
  
With a shared nod of understanding between you and the Heiress, you point your respective LEFT and RIGHT arms up at the ship and power up your HYPERBEAM CRYSTALS.  
  
You use RED, she uses BLUE, and you send out BEAMS OF HOT, CUTTING ENERGY straight into the INCOMING SHIP.  
  
[3:18]  
  
The shields are pierced in a SECOND- and then the BURNING, EXPLODING ENERGY cuts through the rest of the ship a few seconds later- before causing EXPLOSIONS to rock across the entire thing and it starts to LIST DANGEROUSLY towards the ground.  
  
That's when the SUMMONER grabs your attention- and you see that NIHKEE is in his one arm, looking faint for all sorts of reasons- and signals you all to GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.  
  
Reenah jumps into the Summoner's spare arm, and you and he take off at a BLISTERING PACE, all while you check to make sure that everyone important is OUT OF THE WAY of the oncoming explosion, and that there's not an Arai beetle left alone.  
  
[3:27]  
  
Dammek's group is reunited with Mierfa and Callie and Xefros and their RESCUE-ES and they're GETTING OUT OF DODGE by way of a 'BORROWED' CONSTRUCTION TRUCK.   
  
The OTHER RESCUED TROLLS are all similarly getting out of the way on the backs of MOTOR BIKES.  
  
[3:33]  
  
The MARQUISE and her Dragon SWOOP IN and fetch up anyone important who HADN'T YET MADE IT OUT, and they're flying off, off, and away.  
  
[3:40]  
  
You glance back and see more EXPLOSIONS destroying the ALTERNIAN SHIP as it comes CRASHING DOWN, closer and closer, second by second, to the CARNIVAL.  
REAPER senses the death cries of all those trolls on board, and you push yourself TO FLY FASTER to prevent being YET ANOTHER ONE of the imminently deceased.  
  
[3:50]  
  
You feel the heat of the Alternian's sun washing across your skin, and you CLOSE YOUR EYES both to avoid looking as well as to brace yourself for-  
  
[3:55]  
  
 **CRRAAAAAA** \--- The ship HITS THE GROUND- _**AAASSSHHHHHHH**_ \- It starts to OBLITERATE EVERYTHING in its path by sheer force of impact alone.  
  
[4:05]  
  
 _ **BAAAOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!**_  
  
And then It finally dies with one final EXPLOSION that sends a wash of heat across your back.  
  
You all stop, and slowly turn to look back.  
  
[4:13]  
  
What you see takes what little breath you had left away, as you see a MASSIVE, almost MUSHROOM SHAPED cloud rising up from the ruins of this DARK CARNIVAL, now no more.  
  
Yeah... You're pretty sure THAT wasn't in the history books.  
  
...Oh, fuck.   
  
You just killed a HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT FIGUREHEAD.

Okurii is gonna be SO MAD when she finds out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... it's not like Chahut or Baizli were important to the historical record, right?
> 
> ...Right? 
> 
> (I just know that there are going to be people out there who hate me for killing off the new fan favorite Clown. You'll just have to settle for some SINGLE TWIN DRAMA instead.)


	20. SG1:03x15: Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While SG-1 is away, a Cat Girl and her Alternate Universe Twin come to play.

_**APRIL 5TH, 1997.**_  
  
Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you can't believe what you've just watched.  
  
Joey, just, floating in space, while CASUALLY BLOWING UP ENEMY SHIPS, while talking about how boring it was- and yet KEEPING A RUNNING TALLY with one of her Teammates about how many ships they'd destroyed.  
  
Final Result: 120-76, Joey's favor.  
  
Almost 200 ships... just... GONE. A vast majority obliterate by Joey herself.  
  
You're not sure whether you should feel PROUD or TERRIFIED.  
  
Sure, the insane clowns were going to come KILL THEM ALL anyways and if they hadn't been killed first... But at the same time...  
  
It was the kind of GUILT FREE destruction you could reign down upon the countless ENEMY MOBS of an unsuspecting VIDEO GAME WORLD.  
Blast an enemy ship and gain some points. You don't think about where that energy to utterly destroy your opponent comes from, or how you seemingly have unlimited ammo...  
  
Except that's exactly where your mind wanders.  
  
How EASY it was for Joey to blow up these REAVER SHIPS when by her own admission in an earlier video that Joey had trouble just manifesting the willpower for TWO BLASTS. You suppose it would take MORE ENERGY to obliterate a mountain and a volcanoe than it would to pierce through shields and a ship's hull, and yet...  
  
120 ships. With ease. To the point of BOREDOM.  
  
Where does the energy COME FROM?  
  
You'd go ask MAJOR CARTER or JOLINAR for advice, but they, and the rest of SG-1, are presently off world on the TOLLAN HOME WORLD doing some sort of TRIAL THING to rescue an Abydosian girl from one of Apophis' Snake Children.  
  
You think her name was... Hikaru? Akari? Cairo? No. Wait. Kairi. That was it.  
  
Well, at any rate, Skaara seemed happy after hearing that name, so... yeah.  
  
You get up from your chair and head out into the hallways, seeking the CAFETERIA for LUNCH, belated as it is.  
  
Naturally, as you make your way up to the Cafeteria, you hear the sounds of CONVERSATION- or more accurately, ARGUMENT disguised as conversation between what sounds like a grown man and a teenaged girl about...  
  
"I don't care if Magic is real in your world! There's no way a 'glowing yellow crystal' is powering our version of the Mirror!"  
  
"BAKA! Don't dismiss what might be a Universal Constant just because you don't think Magic isn't real in this world either!"  
  
Despite the fact that Hammond had a SIGN PUT UP on your side of the Mirror requesting that "Unless it's an emergency" for people to not cross over, a pair of DIMENSIONAL TWINS ended up tumbling through the mirror earlier today and OF COURSE one of them happened to be the girl who got her universe's Quantum Mirror working again.  
  
You round a corner, and find the following sight:  
  
Dr. Rodney Mckay, arguing with a CAT GIRL. Standing off to the side, one JUDE HARLEY and one CASSANDRA FRAISER, looking just as annoyed at the Scientist as the cat girl's non-feline DUPLICATE is at her other self.    
  
"Siliiicaaaa..." The human girl whines. "Just let it go."  
  
"No, Keiko-nyan!" The Cat girl counters. "He's wrong! There's got to be some version of a Magi-core crystal inside his universe's mirror even IF it doesn't have the same name! They already have a tech-based prototype of one of those 'Zero Point Energy' Cores keeping your Aincrad floating!"  
  
"Well we're not letting you take ours apart just to prove you're right!" Mckay scowls. "And that Power Amplifier Colonel O'neill made clearly doesn't run on Zero Point Energy because if it DID it **_Wouldn't Run Out Of Power!_** Now would it?"  
  
Jude spots you and gives you a wave over- and a pleading look on his face that says "Please help us!"

You make your way over faster than you already were walking.  
  
"GRAAAAH!" The Cat Girl- Silica- growls as the hair on her tail bristles outwards like the cat you had as a kid. (Hrm, maybe you should get Rose and John a cat?) "Of COURSE they run out of power! Even Rechargeable Batteries in your world die- don't they!?"  
  
"But that's just a chemical reaction! What's happening within the Power Amplifier isn't anywhere near close to it!" Mckay protests.  
  
"YES! IT! IS!" the annoyed girl yells. "It's just a different form of chemistry than you're used to looking at!!" She flexes her hands, and you think you see CLAWS growing out of her fingernails.  
  
"Woah now!" You interject. "What's all this about Chemistry? Did someone start a food fight in the caff' again?"  
  
"What? No, of course not, what would you-" Mckay glances at you, then follows your own stare down at the CLEARLY IRATE cat girl standing opposite him. Namely, the CLAWS. Then he makes a sound that sounds suspiciously like a very tiny "oh."  
  
Ah. Sounds like he's been scratched by a cat once or twice before.

"My dimensional Twin and the Doctor here," The human girl, Keiko, says, quickly pulling her alternate universe self aside and starts stroking her on the head to try and calm her down, "were just fighting over whether or not the Quantum Mirror is powered by a power source common to both my and her mirrors."  
  
"Really?" You ask, trying to move the conversation onto a different track. "That's the first I'm hearing about this! Tell me more!"  
  
"Mrrrh." The Cat girl version of the girl half-growls-half-purrs as she calms down a bit. You can see her calming down a bit, her tail smoothing out and the claws retracting into her fingers in a way that you're PRETTY SURE isn't humanly possible.  
  
Magic? You'd REALLY LOVE to take a team through the Mirror to her world some day. Maybe meet a wizard, or a witch! OOH! What if you could become a time traveling witch who can teleport across space??!  
  
"Silica was just explaining it to us," Cassie takes over, clearly just as relieved as Jude is that you intervened. "Apparently they both have these crystal things that draw on this weird inter-dimensional energy field!"  
  
"Zero Point Energy," Silica protests, but not quite nearly as loudly as before. "Get it right. Just because it IS inter-dimensional in some weird way doesn't mean that's its proper name."  
  
Mckay looks like he wants to say something but manages to restrain himself.  
  
"Anyways!" Cassie continues. "We were going to go get a bite to eat in the cafeteria. Want to join us?"  
  
"Sure thing!" you say. "I was actually coming down to get some food myself!"  
  
"I'm..." Mckay opens his mouth, then closes it, and then says, "I think I left my computer on in my office." And with that, he nervously heads off in a direction that almost certainly isn't towards his office.  
  
And so, you and the kids head to the base's cafeteria, get your food, and then sit down to EAT.  
  
In between bites of this or that meal, you get a bit of LORE CATCH UP from the two alternate universe twins in front of you.  
  
KEIKO comes from a version of Earth that LONG AGO had been beset by A LARGE DISASTER- one, naturally, brought down upon them by the GOA'ULD- including RA- as they arrived on Earth. At that point, some GRAND MAGES OF ANCIENT POWER "Descended from the Heavens," and utterly kicked the Goa'uld off of their world. Then, these ANCIENT MAGES designed MASSIVE FLOATING CASTLES to carry the population of Earth on until the PLANET COULD RECOVER from the disaster. The people of what would have become Japan ended up on the castle called "AINCRAD," which was where Keiko lived.  
  
Apparently, there had been a NEAR DISASTER with the engines of AINCRAD, which Keiko had taken it upon herself to solve for some reason. That had lead to her finding the QUANTUM MIRROR, and thus, SILICA'S WORLD. And that world is a SUPER FANTASY MAGIC WORLD! Apparently.  
  
Multiple CONTINENTS, each home to A GIANT TREE, supposedly connected to the MULTIVERSE at large. As it would turn out, that was actually just the LOCAL QUANTUM MIRROR housed inside of it that Silica and her friends had somehow "Liberated" from the LOCAL KING'S NEFARIOUS PLANS and then RESTORED TO POWER. Timelines being parallel and universes loving to throw CONSISTENT TIMING into the works, those two CIRCUMSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUS activations of the Mirror had lead to the two girls meeting up, and getting them embroiled in some WORLD SPANNING CONSPIRACY that had lead to their CURRENT VISITOR STATUS in your world.  
  
To be honest, Goa'uld involvement aside, the whole thing sounds like one of the JRPGs Joey was into.  
  
However, something Silica mentions during her explanation of Keiko's world's technology catches your ears.  
  
"...Wait," you say. "Repeat that last part?"  
  
"Oh, um," The cat-girl thinks it over for a moment, then says, "right. 'The interesting thing about Aincrad's engines is that they're CLEARLY designed for space travel.'"  
  
"Really now," You say. "How so?"  
  
"Well," Silica begins, "for starters, they're LITERALLY called Star Drives in their programming. It just seems weird to use them, though, because I just don't know how someone could ever launch one of those Castles into space without sealing up the gaps between the floors first."  
  
Hrm.  
  
"Shields?" You ask.  
  
"Non existent," Silica answers. "Trust me, it was one of the first things I checked while I helped restore power to keep Aincrad from crashing into the ground!"  
  
"Retractable Walls?" You offer.  
  
"...Maybe? Possibly. I'd have to take a closer look," Silica shrugs. "At any rate, I don't see how it could be air tight if that was the case."  
  
"Maybe they're re-purposed from some other project?" You offer.  
  
"That would fit with the history I learned in school," Keiko says. "We were told that the Ancient Mages had 'descended' from somewhere. Mom always said it was 'religious metaphor' but what if it was literal?"  
  
"Aliens who came down from the stars," you nod. "They'd be space travelers. Probably they could rework their existing space ship engines to send the castles into the sky."  
  
"If they could do that, though, why not just take everyone to another planet?" Silica scowls. "Seems kinda stupid for these Ancient Mages to not just pack everything up and go to another world if they can fly across the stars."  
  
"Who knows," You shrug. "Maybe you could ask them?"  
  
"Can't," Keiko says. "History says they 'Ascended to a higher plane' after they deemed their job done and Humanity safe on the Castles."  
  
Silica chimes in with, "And the Sabotage on Aincrad's engines aside, those flying castles they made have lasted for almost seventy thousand years without major problems. They designed those things to last. Hell, given proper sealing and shields? I bet one of those castles could survive being sunken under the ocean for millions of years without damage."  
  
"Hah," You laugh. "Like Atlantis, right?"  
  
"Atlantis?" Silica asks. "I don't get the comparison."  
  
"Me either," Keiko answers.  
  
"Like the myth," Jude chimes in. "The Ancient City that sunk beneath the waves?"  
  
The two girls look at each other, before Keiko says, cautiously, "Atlantis didn't sink in my world."  
  
"It didn't?" You ask, surprised.  
  
"Nope," Keiko answers. "Historically, that was the name of the Ship the Ancient Mages first decended with to defend the Earth."  
  
You blink. "So Atlantis... was a Spaceship?"  
  
"...I guess so," Keiko shrugs.  
  
"...'Sunk beneath the waves'?" Silica muses. "...I wonder if that's what really happened to it in this universe?"  
  
"I get the feeling it probably did," Cassie finally chimes in.  
  
"Really?" Jude asks. "Like... Bad idea to dial a Black Hole feeling?"  
  
"Something like that," Cassie nods.  
  
"I wonder where it is, then," you ponder. "What ocean did it sink under, and why?"  
  
You get the feeling you probably won't find out for YEARS TO COME, at the very least.

* * *

 

After Lunch, Jude and Cassie have to leave to pick up JADE and NEPETA from their DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT with Janet Fraiser, and so leave you with the two girls as you head back to the MIRROR ROOM to check on the status of the room on the other side. In the mean time, as you walk, the subject of wings comes up- or rather, Silica complaining about the Base being UNDERGROUND and thus, limiting her ability to use her wings.  
  
"You can summon wings?" You ask, suddenly remembering JOEY'S VIDEO asking you to figure out how wings work. "Is that, like, a spell?"  
  
"If it is? It's one everyone in my world knows by instinct," Silica answers.  
  
"How does it work then?" You ask. "I don't see any gaps on your shirt to let wings out."  
  
"They're made out of light 'magic,' and form over anything in between them and my bare back! They also only ever let themselves form in direct sun or moon light," Silica explains. "Except they're definitely extra limbs like my tail would be on Keiko-nyan. If you're not good at flying to begin with, you get like, ten minutes of flight time max. The more practice you get in, the longer you can fly without getting tired... or that's what they tell us."  
  
"Truth is," Keiko says, "some idiot had a spell put on the world that keeps them from flying forever. The minute you jump to another world, though..."  
  
"I could fly for as long as I want in Keiko's world, just so long as I didn't go underground, or inside a building with no sunlight," Silica adds.  
  
"That's... really weird," you say. "Hey, before you go, can I show you something?"  
  
"...Sure." The girls nod in a simultaneous way that comes off as just a tad odd.  
  
And so you take them to your office, coincidentally on the way, set up the particular video in question- audio muted of course- and pause it on the wings Joey summoned, back turned to the camera to show the effect in full. "Is this what your wings look like?"  
  
Silica takes a long look at the video, then nods. "Yeah, the shape is more like a Nav Pixie's wings than any of the wing shapes back home, but- the clothes going between the wings and the body is pretty much exactly the same."  
  
"Okay, so," you say, "the girl in this video asked me how these wings can POSSIBLY lift her own body weight. I don't have the foggiest."  
  
"Hmm," Silica muses on it. "Is there a light restriction on them?"  
  
"Not that I'm aware of," you report.  
  
"Probably not the same mechanic for manifesting, but lift..." Silica turns around, back to you, and says, "Point the spot for me please, Keiko-nyan?"  
  
"Sure," Keiko puts her hand over her Dimensional Twin's back, at a certain spot where you'd imagine wings would emerge.  
  
"So, right about here?" Silica says. "Best I can figure there's a small organ or muscle. Go ahead and touch if you feel like it."  
  
Keiko pulls her hand away, and you reach out and feel the girl's back. Sure enough there's a strange collection of tiny MUSCULATURE that feels foreign for its placement between shoulder blades.  
  
"Yeah, so," Silica continues as you withdraw your hand and check your own back, naturally feeling nothing in that spot. "Right there, there's going to be something your girl in the video has that's probably similar. The wings are emitted by this muscle are getting made out of light, best as I can figure."  
  
"Light..." You plant your right hand to your forehead. "Of course! Photons! Wings of literal Light. That's really obvious. I should have thought of it." Of course... "That still doesn't explain how it lifts the body without a physical connection, though."  
  
Silica shrugs, and Keiko just smiles. "I'd chalk it up to just magic, honestly."  
  
"Magic is just a process you don't understand yet," Silica counters.  
  
You think on that for a moment. You guess... Yeah. That makes a little bit more sense.

There's a process to how Joey's wings work that you're clearly not understanding just yet. But now you have another DATA SET to work off of. You smile just a little bit.

* * *

 

The girls have returned to one of their worlds- Easily Identified by a carving in the floor in front of the mirror and TWO EXPECTANT and SLIGHTLY ANNOYED BLUE FEATHER DRAKES- by the time SG-1 returns through the Stargate with two extra people in tow.  
  
One is MARTOUF/LANTASH, talking with Carter about something, the other is the ABYDOSIAN GIRL, walking hand in hand with SKAARA.  
  
Aww, how cute!  
  
It looks like whatever TRIAL was being held on the Tollan home world went off without a problem!  
  
"Sir," O'neill says to Hammond as the General goes to greet them. "Add one more Goa'uld name to that list of people we Oh So Love to hate."  
  
"Something happened?" Hammond asks.  
  
"You could say that," O'neill answers. "The Goa'uld serving as Archon used the entire thing as a pretense to try and destroy Tollana's Ion Cannons, Sir."  
  
"I take it his plan failed?" Hammond inquires.  
  
"Indeed it did," Teal'c says. "Quite heavily."  
  
"Ol' Zippy played dumb," O'neill says, "but the look on his face when he heard his Ha'tak got blown up told everyone he was behind it."  
  
"Good," Hammond says. "Let's hope that's the last we hear of him... And did you say 'Zippy?'"  
  
"Short for Zipacna," Teal'c informs the General, while motioning at O'neill. "He was once an Underlord of Apophis."  
  
"...Ah," Hammond eyes O'neill, who gives a small wave of his hand. "I see."  
  
Yeah. Another one of O'neill's INFURIATING NICKNAMES.

"Now, if you don't mind," O'neill says. "I think we've all earned a nice few hours of private time to ourselves after today." He nods his head towards Skaara and his girl friend, and they blush at the mention.  
  
Daaww! So Cute!

"Alright," Hammond says with a nod. "Dismissed until the debriefing."

"Thank you, sir," And with that, SG-1 head off to do their own things.

You notice Carter and Martouf sticking together at the Gate Ramp, though, and you head down to talk to them about A FEW THINGS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say FORESHADOWING? :33


	21. ALT:03X09: To Scratch An Itch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which another Troll gets her name.

Secluded in the back of a small cave near the Stargate...  
  
"...Why the hell did you save a clown?" Your name is DAMMEK, and you honestly wonder what the hell was going through your Moirail's head at that moment.  
  
"She was on Tyzias' list!" Callie points out, motioning at the Teal Blood currently trying to talk to the pretty much IMMOBILE CLOWN GIRL. "Besides that, she lost her twin to the Ferris Wheel. She wasn't going anywhere without her."  
  
You sigh. "Fine. As long as we keep her away from everyone else. I don't want her snapping and undoing all of our hard work."  
  
"Tyzias and I are going to take her back to Haven," Callie says. "I'll see if I can get more from Tyzias about why this girl is important."  
  
"Good luck," you say, and then head over to where Xefros and the others of your team are distracting the rescue-es from noticing the girl in the back.  
  
"Howdy," A fellow Bronze Blood intercepts you before you can get too far, though. She's wearing what looks like a HISTORICALLY ACCURATE MOO-BEAST HERDER OUTFIT- actually, that's probably is exactly what it is she's, since you're not in the present day, but the distant past. "Names Skylla, Skylla Koriga. Just wanted to personally give ya'll a mighty big thanks for the rescue. We really got in a pinch back there with th' Clowns. Not sure if we'd have made it off tha executioner's block without yer help."  
  
"Just doing our job," you say. "If you'll excuse me, though, I need to check in with one of my team who didn't make it here."   
  
"Sure, sure," Bronze Blood Girl- Skylla?- steps aside and lets you meander on over to the LIBERATED TRUCK rests.   
  
You take out your RADIO, tuned to the FREQUENCY you know isn't going to be PUBLICLY USED for at least another HUNDRED SWEEPS, and tab to talk. "This is Tetrarch to Polyarch. Come in Polyarch. Over."   
  
There's a pause, then you, thankfully, hear Joey's voice come through. _"Polyarch reading you, Tetrarch. What's the sitch?"_ There's a pause, then she adds, _"Over."_  
  
"Well, we've got..." You do a quick head count, do the math, and...  "Five survivors from our list. Muse says we lost one of them to the Ferris Wheel?" You forget for a moment, then add, "Over."  
  
 _"Yeah, I saw that, unfortunately,"_ Joey replies. _"Poor girl. That was_ not _a pleasant way to go. Over."_  
  
"Muse and Sleepdeprived are taking her to Flaretown," you say. "Where should we take the rest of our survivors? Over."  
  
 _"I'm with the Ring Leaders of their group right now, actually,"_ Joey says. _"Feel free to elaborate to your people while you take them too..."_ She pauses, and you see one of the ARAI BEETLES nearby flutter its wings. Joey then says, _"Just follow the Beetles, actually. I'll guide you there. You're not out of my range so I can manage it. Over."_  
  
"Follow the Glowbugs. Good to know," you say. "So... explain the situation to them? Over."  
  
 _"Yeah,"_ Joey says. _"The Heiress is explaining to them at the moment what she learned from the data swap, which is why I'm_ not _being forced to hand my radio over right now. I'm still getting some odd looks, though. Gonna have to explain in better detail soon. Over."_  
  
"We'll meet you there, then, Polyarch," you say. "Tetrarch, over and out."  
  
 _"Over and out,"_ Joey replies, and you switch off your radio.  
  
You turn back around, aiming to talk to your team first, only to nearly stumble face first into the Bronze Blood girl. She has a suspicious look on her face.  
  
"Explain. _What._ Situation?" She asks, eyeing you oddly.   
  
...Welp, there's no other way around it, you're gonna have to explain and hope she doesn't bite your head off in the process.

* * *

 

"Time Travel?" The Marquise stares at you- being JOEY CLAIRE- incredulously. "Through the Stargate??"  
  
"Yep," you nod, and raise your left wrist, feeling incredibly grateful that you made a disguise form for stuff like this. "This is proof, if you don't believe it."  
  
"Holy Shit," The Summoner stares. "Reenah wasn't lying. Two versions of The Twilight Bracelet at the same time!"  
  
"Why the hell would I lie about that for?" Reenah asks from her seat next to you, sounding offended.  
  
"Okay," The Marquise says, staring at you in a way that implies she's TRYING to do something with her powers. Regent's subtle pulsing, however, tells you that she's getting nowhere with it. "So you're time travelers. Why the hell come back here for?"  
  
"We need help in the future," you explain. "The Sorian Empire, as far as we can tell, have completely lost control of a weapon that's overtaken them entirely. It's spreading from planet to planet, destroying or taking over every ship it comes across. They're converting planets into pieces for a Giant Stargate, and... we have no idea how to stop it."   
  
The Summoner frowns. "So you, what, came back hoping to change the course of history?"  
  
"No," you shake your head. "We're trying to make as few ripples as we can."  
  
"I'd say THAT is a pretty big ripple," The Marquise says, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at the SMOLDERING RUINS of the Dark Carnival.  
  
"We don't have a lot to go on," you admit. "Just a list of names of people who died, where, when, and some general ideas of whether or not they might be able to help us in the future. We save them from their deaths, and if they can help us out some way, we ask if they even want to come back to the future with us."

* * *

 

"Well, now," Skylla blinks. "That's an interestin' propositi'n, but I dunno what good any of my crew would do in tha' future against machines like that."  
  
"Well," you're once more Dammek (Eh? What? You never quite stopped being you to begin with) and you shrug. "I'm not the one who put the list together. I'd assume you're all the kind of people who had some reason to be caught and set to be executed as members of the Summoner's Revolt."  
  
"Fair enough," Skylla says. "I suppose we're good in that respect. Can't say how it'd help in the future, tho'."  
  
"You never know," you say. "What are you good at? Both personally and professionally."  
  
"Personally? Wranglin' beasts," Skylla says. "Also got me a mean kick that can knock fruit from a tree an' send some particularly pesky critters flyin a good ways."  
  
You blink. Process that statement, and ask, "What's your largest feat and farthest with it?"  
  
She tells you a particularly large sized BEAST and a PRETTY IMPRESSIVE DISTANCE and damn it all you think any Replicators she comes across are going to be miles away within seconds and have no idea what the hell hit them- if they even survive the initial impact.  
  
...Impacts.  
  
Now there's an idea.  
  
"As for professionally..." Skylla muses. "I've been on a kick lately figurin' out a way t' safely deactivate that darned royal lusus out in tha' oceans. I'd just found somethin' when we all got scooped up from the Clown's Private Library. 'Course, that's all probably burned up now, but I know tha title, at any rate. Can always find another copy somewhere."  
  
...Oh?   
  
OH!  
  
"Yeah," you say, "I think I just figured out why you were on the list."

* * *

 

You're now TYZIAS ENTYKK, and as you and Callie watch the TRUCK with the rest of your team on it drive off after a small swarm of ARAI BEETLES, you feel a sense of...  
  
Well, 'accomplishment' feels a bit hollow.  
  
Just because you've INITIALLY saved these Trolls from their HISTORICAL DEATHS, doesn't mean you have SAVED THEM completely. Not yet. You're still in the PAST, after all. Not until you get them back to the FUTURE does it mean you've SAVED THEM.  
  
For the moment, though, you're going to focus on your ISSUE.  
  
Barzum Soleil, the poor girl whose fate you learned was to be separated from her twin- who sadly still died in the last fight, damn it- and be used in a CRUEL EXPERIMENT to try and MASTERMIND the REAVERS back into the Alternian Empire's Lines.  
  
Needless to say, it didn't work out in the future- partly because she was in a CATATONIC STATE the entire time, much like she's in now- and you're going to keep Barzum WELL away from those insane Clowns. Poor girl doesn't deserve a life used as a lab experiment.  
  
That said, if Okurii ever asks for a reason why you chose her, you'll bullshit an excuse that if you can get Barzum conscious again, and if she *agrees* and is *willing* to work with the Rebellion back in the future? She might be able to help you all figure out how the hell ENGLISH is driving the already insane clowns even FURTHER into insanity (Thus becoming Reavers) and that could give you all a way to BLOCK it and prevent it from happening to anyone.  
  
With a bit of effort, you sling the poor purple blooded girl across your back, and you and Callie head for the Stargate.  
  
Stupidly, you find it unguarded. Not even left with any CAMERAS left pointing at it. It's almost like the Empress just doesn't care who uses it or not. WHY? A carnival was just DESTROYED and nobody is guarding the Gate to keep potential criminals from escaping?   
  
Callie dials Haven, and the both of you step up to the Gate after it activates.   
  
That's when you hear a loud THRUMMING SOUND from above you.  
  
You and Callie turn around to watch as A LARGE SPACESHIP drifts down into view- likely containing SEARCH TEAMS.  
  
You backstep through the Gate, carrying Barzum through first, and as you emerge into the forests of Haven, a moment later, Callie comes through after you.  
  
"I hope everyone made it safely," Callie says.   
  
"Me too," You say.

* * *

 

Our view then shoots back through the Stargate, returning to ALTERNIA, and then upwards to its GREEN MOON, where the PAST VERSION of a certain WHITE SUITED MAN stands before a TELEVISION SCREEN, monitoring the SEARCH EFFORTS of the team he's dispatched to uncover the cause of the DARK CARNIVAL'S DESTRUCTION.  
  
Here, too, the man in the PERFECTLY SPHERICAL, 100% PURE CUEBALL SURFACED HELMET stands, however, the man called SCRATCH just seems to like wearing the thing at all times, we can surmise. A full on spacesuit is COMPLETELY SUPERFLUOUS, given the presence of an ATMOSPHERE on this green moon.  
  
Here, instead, he wears a FINELY PRESSED, white colored TUXEDO, layered over yet more WHITE CLOTHING of a FINE AND FORMAL NATURE. Even his hands are covered in WHITE GLOVES that seem STAINED, some how, despite being NEVER WORN for any form of dirty work. Perhaps it's the metaphorical stain on his hands showing through?   
  
But that is diverging into territory that is best left untouched.  
  
Our focus tries to pry into the man's mind for a moment, to get some hint of what he's thinking...  
  
All we can gather, however, is that he is UNNERVED by what feels like a MAJOR DISTURBANCE to the timeline. That ship should not have crashed. People who were supposed to live had died, and people who were supposed to die now live.  
  
It is as if a WRENCH of some kind has been thrown into the plans of his master. It feels as if a RECORD PLAYER has been jostled and its playing needle SKIPPING diagonally across the surface, sliding ever so slightly over the PLASTERED SURFACE in the middle before continuing on through the rest of it.  
  
The man we know as SCRATCH reaches into his jacket pocket and removes a BRIGHT GREEN POCKET WATCH- its metal surface painstakingly painted to mirror the surface of the CRYSTALLINE SHARDS serving as the HOUR, MINUTE AND SECOND HANDS, which we see as he opens it.  
  
What we, and SCRATCH AS WELL, see, however... is that they refuse to move, frozen for but the will of someone unknown. Someone other than the LORD OF TIME.   
  
The SCHEDULE has been DELAYED at exactly 13 MINUTES and 6 POINT 12 SECONDS past 4 A.M. on a day that otherwise was going to be FAIRLY IMPORTANT to the LORD'S TIMELINE.  
  
Beneath his helmet, though none could see it, the man called SCRATCH frowns.  
  
"I'm going to have to investigate this personally, aren't I?" He laments in a way that somehow manages to sound like a hybrid tone of ANNOYED and EXCITED. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That precious little Hotdog Lover is way too small and young for the Summoner to ever want to use in his army. Diemen Xicali will show up in the Modern Day Alternia sections once we return there. 
> 
> Apologies, future readers, well in advance if Skylla's accent is inconsistent, or not even accurate to how she speaks in Hiveswap Act 2. She was only just revealed today, after all.


	22. SG1:03x16: AFTER URGO, BEFORE CAKE AND PRESENTS.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's John's first birthday!

**APRIL 13TH, 1997.**  
  
_-"You're listening to Radio Disney! A.M. 1590! Radio Disney: We're all ears!"-_ The radio chimes before jumping into the first song at the top of the hour, something from some chipper DISNEY CARTOON about PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES, you think. Or maybe it was OTTERS. Truth be told you aren't paying much attention to that.  
  
Your name is DAVIS STRIDER, and in the back seat of your car, your ADOPTED DAUGHTER NEPETA ARGO LEIJON cries out in glee at the mention of EARS.  
  
You glance back at her through the rear view mirror for a single moment spanning exactly two seconds. Her little blue knit CAT EARED HAT obscures her actual real cat ears, which are wriggling in delight. You know her wings are safely hidden beneath a LARGE OVERSIZED JACKET, so you don't have to worry about that.  
  
It's the perfect crime. Nobody will know... except for the people who know she has wings, really, and helped get you such a LARGE JACKET for her in the first place.  
  
Speaking of.  
  
You return your gaze to the road as you pull up to the LALONDE-EGBERT house driveway. You've arrived FASHIONABLY LATE by being EXACTLY ON TIME, exactly TEN MINUTES EARLY to the SCHEDULED PARTY TIME.  
  
You park your car- some clunky old BRIGHT CHERRY RED PAINTED SUBARU you've had for years and only use for personal stuff and not for work- and then work to get Nepeta out of her carseat. Said carseat is a custom bit of work designed to work best to allow room for Nepeta's wings.  
  
Wings. Sometimes you still find it hard to believe that's a thing you consider NORMAL against everything else youv'e seen in your line of work.  
  
"Upsidaisy~" you say as you pick her up, and Nepeta giggles out a "Upsidownsy!" To which, you level her a certain gaze from behind your SUNGLASSES. A gaze which she matches from behind her GOGGLES. "Rose has been teaching you all sorts of little ironic turn-arounds, hasn't she?" You ask.  
  
"Nope!" she nods her head 'yes' despite that, a wide grin on her face.  
  
With that, you head up to the house, and-- you don't ring the door bell. You get a feeling that might startle something. Instead, you KNOCK FOUR TIMES in rapid succession.  
  
A moment later, Cassandra Fraiser is there opening the door, looking a bit frazzled, then relieved once she sees it's you.  
  
"Uhoh," you say as you enter the house, "I know that look."  
  
"Someone back at base thought it was a good idea to hire a clown Anonymously," Cassie explains as she closes the door. "John freaked out cause of the clown, Jade freaked out because John was freaking out over the clown, and Rose decided to take it upon herself to stab the clown in the leg with sporks. He already left, but we weren't sure if that was him coming back or not so I was going to tell him to go home."  
  
"I missed that much already?" You ask, incredulous. "Wait. SPORKS? Rose tried to stab a clown with Sporks?!"  
  
"We're just lucky she didn't get her hands on any of the knives, plastic or not," Cassie says, sighing in relief. "The Clown might have started suing people if she actually drew blood."  
  
"Well damn," you say, looking around the room. Jude is currently sitting at a sofa with John and Jade, trying his best to cheer them up again. Rose is off sitting in a corner between a bookshelf and the wall, sulking, possibly of her own accord by the way Colonel O'neill- JACK, you remind yourself. You're all off duty today- is trying to coax her out of there.  
  
Carter, Teal'c, and Skaara are talking over near the kitchen about WHO POSSIBLY could have sent the clown. You can kinda gaze past them and see that ROXY and JANE EGBERT are in the kitchen putting the FINAL FROSTING DECORATIONS on a LARGE BIRTHDAY CAKE.  
  
Ah, and speaking of birthdays, there, sitting in a chair next to a coffee table, you see that Janet Fraiser is SEWING UP a broken HAPPY BIRTHDAY BANNER with a determined look on her face. How the hell did that break?  
  
You look to Cassie and she says, "The Clown grabbed it for support when Rose jumped him."  
  
"Ah." Wait. "Jumped him?"  
  
"The second time she attacked him, when he wouldn't leave," Cassie explains. "Roxy was holding her and Rose just... leaped at the guy."  
  
"Holy shit," What the hell did you MISS?  
  
You head over to Jude along with Cassie and drop Nepeta off with them and the other kids. And just like that, Nepeta's glowing presence lightens up Jade and John's SOUR MOOD and they're soon giggling and chatting like little kids are known to do.  
  
You leave them to it, and head over to where Colonel- Jack- is trying to talk to Rose.  
  
"C'mon kiddo, you didn't do anything wrong," Jack is saying. "You just had the fastest reflexes, that's all."  
  
Rose doesn't seem to believe it any, scowling in an adorable pout that doesn't look quite right on a 1-almost-2-year old face, "He made them cry."  
  
"Hey there, Rosie," You say, kneeling down. "I hear you chased off a clown."  
  
"Uncle Davish!" She smiles brightly, and then throws herself at you for a hug- and also to grab at your sunglasses, which you let her. Ah, despite all the strides she's been pushing herself with towards speaking CLEARLY AND COHERENTLY, you think you'll be pretty sad the day she finally says your name right. "He was mean and scary and I'm pretty sure he was an alien!"  
  
"He was, was he?" you ask, eyeing the Colonel, who gives you the most INNOCENT LOOKING sheepish smile he could muster.  
  
Rose nods as seriously as she can, while also looking as silly as possible with your shades lying skewed on her face. "He smelled like grape soda and he hissed like a snake," she says as her evidence. "I'm ashamed to report that I could not stop him from terrorizing everyone!"  
  
"Nawh," You say, putting a hand on her head and messing up her blond mop of hair a bit. Rose protests that action, even as you say, "You did just fine, Kiddo. Scared him off something fierce, I heard."  
  
"But," Rose protests, "he's still alive! What if he was an ememy snake alien!?"  
  
'Ememy'- daaw, you think, but don't say. She'd hate it if you went soft over that kind of verbal typo.  
  
"Then Colonel Jack and I will hunt him down and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone," You say.  
  
"You going to come out from the corner now?" Jack asks.  
  
"...Can I keep the glasses?" She asks of you.  
  
"As long as you want 'em today, Rose," you say. "I think you've earned 'em."  
  
"Then yes," Rose says to the Colonel. "I will come out from the corner now."  
  
And thus you carry her over to the other kids, and she interjects herself seamlessly into the conversation.  
  
You shake your head. "Well, today's been a day so far, hasn't it?" You ask.  
  
"More of a week, really," Jack says. "Rowing Boats and what not."  
  
Ah, yes. URGO. The danged program that some Alien had put inside SG-1's heads. That... that was a thing. A thing that should be probably left unmentioned during a BIRTHDAY PARTY.  
  
"Where's Alec at?" You ask, glancing around, and not seeing the proud father anywhere.  
  
"He, ah, got the clown's business card and decided to go pay them all a little visit," Jack answers. "Ostensibly to get information on who hired the damned clown. But probably just to break a few noses."  
  
"Shit," You hang your head. "We'll be lucky if we get out of this without a restraining order or a law suit."  
  
"Clowns suck," Jack says.  
  
"That they do," you agree.

* * *

 

"I don't know where she gets it from, Jane," your name is ROXY LALONDE and you honestly just... Can't figure it out. "I'm not that violent of a person. Neither is Alec."  
  
"We often forget that children have minds of their own outside of how we raise them," Jane says as you and she work to decorate John's Birthday Cake. Well, more like ADOPTION DAY, but it's as close enough of a fit as you've got. "And Rose is a smart girl, she gets that from you, but sometimes being that smart means she picks up stuff from places we never expected."  
  
"Like trying to stab a clown in the leg and rip his eyes out with her bare hands kind of unexpected?" You ask.  
  
"...Well," Jane glances aside. "Something like that, yes."  
  
"Yeah," You sigh. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's sticking up for her brother and cousin. But I just..."  
  
"Hope it's not a pattern?" Jane asks.  
  
"Yeah," you nod. "I don't want to see her getting in trouble at school, y'know? Or, or... God forbid she starts sticking her nose into stuff at the SGC she shouldn't be."  
  
"Yeah, that's..." Jane nods. "Hopefully she'll grow out of it. I worry about Jude and Jade enough as it is. And Joey? I know some of those videos you show me tell me she's doing fine, but I can't help but worry about her safety at the same time." She sighs. "She seems so much like Jake used to be at her age, in those videos. More so than Jude, sometimes. The excitement of adventure, the wonder of exploration. I worry she'll get in over her head."  
  
"Me too," you say. "A lot of the time after their mother died, I was pretty much the only one there for them. Jake was there, but he... he was so busy with his work and his grief and I was always afraid Joey would pick up some of his bad habits."  
  
"I'm sure she knows not to do anything too dangerous on her own, dear," Jane says. "Especially if she has people she cares about to keep her grounded."  
  
"Grounded," you laugh, a little bit bitterly. "That's a laugh."  
  
"Why's that?" Jane asks, smiling.  
  
"She can fly," you remind her.  
  
"Oh, yes," Jane laughs. "Space ships and rocket propulsion and all sorts of interesting sci-fi things. Hoo hoo!"  
  
Not exactly what you meant, but...  
  
"Yeah. All sorts of sci-fi things," You agree.  
  
Honestly, though, you just wish she was home safe and sound and here for this party.  
  
That's when the phone rang with a sudden dread.  
  
"...Hello?" Jane picks it up and answers, "Yes, this is the Egbert Residence. This is Jane speaking..."  
  
And then the nice Police Officer on the phone tells your mother in law that your husband has somehow gone and gotten himself arrested for provoking a Clown-For-Hire agency by...  
  
You pick up the words "Juggling Fish," "A pair of fake handcuffs," "Lifting A Loaded Clown Car by its Bumper," and "restraining order from" and decide that AN 2X COMBO FACEPALM is appropriate.  
  
Of course, doing so without putting down the ICING BAG first results in you splatting BLUE ICING all over your face in the process.  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...You've got a faint, vague idea of where Rose might have gotten some of her recent OUTRAGEOUS TENDENCIES from. That is to say, she almost certainly got them from both of her parents.  
  
Damn it all.  
  
...Now you've got to get cleaned up before you go bail your husband out of jail.  
  
SIGH.  
  
You'll be lucky if you get out of this with ONLY a restraining order.

* * *

 

"I bet it was Doctor Mckay," Skaara says.  
  
"No way," Carter shakes her head. "It's got to be Doctor Ikari from Biology. She's the kind of person who'd hire a clown for a baby's birthday just to record how loud the screams get."  
  
Your name is Teal'c, and for the last few minutes, this conversation has been going on without stop.  
  
You're not entirely sure WHY you were invited. You feel just... oh so very OUT OF PLACE. At least the KIDS are all used to seeing you at the SGC and they're not off put by your presence. That would just make things all the more awkward.  
  
...You really DO NOT WANT to be attacked by a young girl with slightly pointed rounded utensils, after all.  
  
And yet as Roxy Egbert exits the kitchen, it is you she hands a CHEF'S HAT and says "Help Jane finish decorating the cake, T. I've got to go bail my husband out of the slammer."  
  
While everyone else stares at her for that odd remark- O'neill being the only one to protest that he should be the one to finish the cake work (Clearly, he aims to take a sample of the cake before it is finished)- you simply say, "I will do my best, Roxy Egbert" and swap out your current FISHERMAN'S DISGUISE HAT for the CHEF'S HAT before heading into the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, hello, Dear," the elderly JANE EGBERT says, smiling, reminding you just a bit of MASTER BRA'TAC. "Come to help an old lady finish the cake, hm?"  
  
"I will be your assistant in finishing this project," you say.  
  
"Alright then, let's get you an icing bag and see where Roxy left off, shall we?" Jane smiles.  
  
And so you do your best to pick up on the technique needed to finish the cake decoration.  
  
"Mmh, so, you work at the mountain that everyone else works at too, right?" Jane asks in between the breaks in her teaching.  
  
"Indeed," you answer, wondering just where the hell she's going with this.  
  
"You seem like a man who has his priorities in order, Mister Teal'c," Jane says. "Would you do an old woman a favor and promise me that you'll keep an eye out for Jude and Roxy while they're working there? That they won't get in over their heads like my brother did?"  
  
You consider the offer, then nod. "I promise that I will attempt my very best to do so."  
  
"Oh, thank you so much," Jane chuckles, and somehow you feel as if you've been tricked by Master Bra'tac into running a hundred laps around the training field again. Not in a bad way, though, strangely enough.  
  
Soon, you've finished the PERSONALIZED cake for John, and then you're suddenly working on another one- with a whole lot less decoration put into it regarding text, but matching in style with the same border decorations.  
  
It's in that moment you come to the realization that OF COURSE there would be multiple cakes. One cake alone would not be enough to comfortably feed everyone who came today.  
  
The only problem you have with this situation is...  
  
You saw the entire kitchen when you came in. There was NO SECOND CAKE anywhere in sight and you didn't hear Jane open the fridge at all.  
  
You look to her, about to ask how, and she just gives you a sly "Hoo hoo!" of a chuckle that tells you she already knows what you were about to ask.  
  
You honestly have no idea what kind of GRANDMOTHERLY MAGIC Jane Egbert has been weaving, but you're feeling VERY INTERESTED in learning the HOW all of a sudden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. That was a Paradox Space reference.


	23. ALT:03X10: INTERMISSION 3: Armed Deprivation.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just between you and me, someone's enjoying this way too much.

Onboard the Alternian Search Vessel THE CODED CROWNS, a RING TRANSPORT activates, and all in the immediate viscinity turn and kneel as a CERTAIN WHITE SUITED MAN emerges from the transport beam.  
  
"PRAISE TO THE SCRATCH DOCTOR!" Those around him call out, and the man acknowledges it with a subtle, otherwise imperceptible bob of his HELMETED HEAD. He steps off of the ring platform and heads along the hallways. All those on the ship kneel upon seeing him, even the HIGH RANKING VIOLET BLOODS who only ever bow to CLOWNS and THE EMPRESS HERSELF.   
  
The man in the white suit steps onto the bridge, and all conversation goes silent as all eyes stare at the gleaming, immaculate suit and helmet that are SCRATCH'S PREFERRED WARDROBE.  
  
The SHIP'S VIOLET BLOODED SEA DWELLER COMMANDER, one BALGRA THE ROOTHAND, stands to attention, saluting. "Scratch Doctor," he says, trying to sound professional... and yet a tiny squeak of terror slips out.  
  
"Report," Scratch orders.  
  
"We've found the black box of the Ahab's Folley," Balgra The Roothand Reports. "According to the last few seconds of flight data, beams of red and blue light emerged from somewhere around the Executioner's Stage and utterly destroyed the ship's core, stern to bow, barely missing the bridge. At that point, explosions rocked the ship and it came crashing down onto the Dark Carnival."  
  
"I see," Scratch mulls it over for a moment. "Were any camera sensors pointed that way?"  
  
"No, Sir," Balgra the Roothand answers. "All of the ship's sensors were tuned towards fighting the rogue Dragon Lusus known to be in the Summoner's Employ."  
  
"I see." Scratch stands there, silent for a moment. "And of the Library of the Grand Executioner?"  
  
"It did not survive the crash, I'm afraid to report." Balgra the Roothand answers.  
  
"Troublesome," Scratch muses. "There were some rare volumes in that collection he was holding for me. No matter. Easily replaceable." He looks the ship's commander in the eyes- not that Balgra can tell by way of not seeing the Man's eyes, but he can JUST FEEL that he's being stared down in his eyes. "Have you tracked down where the Rebels have gone, yet?"  
  
"W-well," Balgra the Roothand begins. "We haven't --" _***SNAP***_ And then he suddenly can't talk. He can't BREATHE. He's not being choked or feeling nervous, although his FEAR LEVELS are rising SHARPLY as realizes...  
  
HE. CAN'T. BREATHE.  
  
"Balgra," Scratch says, sounding disappointed as he holds up his right hand, post finger snapping, and resets to snap again. "If the next words out of your mouth aren't exactly 'formally sent a squad after the known location of their base camp yet', I will be severely disappointed."  
  
 _ ***SNAP***_  
  
And then he can breathe again. Balgra the Roothand takes a shuddering breath, trying to fill his lungs... then he says. "We have a general idea of where they are, but we haven't tracked down their exact location yet to formally send a squad."  
  
"...I see," Scratch says, and then resets his fingers for another snap.  
  
"W-Wait!" Balgra says, holding his hands up. "We know roughly where they are, we just-!"  
  
"I am severely disappointed in you, Balgra." Scratch says, "I told you I wanted to hear the exact words, and you did not say them."  
  
"I'm so-sorry that-"  
  
 _ ***SNAP!***_ Goes Scratch's fingers, and then he says, "Your breathing privileges have been revoked, Balgra."  And then Balgra the Seadwelling Violetblood suffocates as all the air is suddenly vacated from his lungs and he can't breathe in any more. Were he able to even get to water, the Seadweller would find that even his gils could not save him.  
  
The man stands there, gasping, trying to get some air in his lungs, but...  
  
Nothing.  
  
He falls to the ground, dead, but mere seconds later.  
  
"Who is the next in command?" Scratch asks, and a man reluctantly steps forwards.  
  
"I- I am," the man says.  
  
"And what words do I want to hear?" Scratch asks.  
  
"...Formally sent a squad after the known location of their base camp yet?" The man answers.  
  
"What is your name?" Scratch lowers his hand, returning it to his side.  
  
"Skhull Naihte," the man says.   
  
"Well, Skhull Naihte," Scratch says, "you've just been promoted. See to it that you dispatch that squad by the time I return. Or you might just _choke_ on your first assignment." And with that, Scratch turns, and leaves back the way he came.   
  
A few moments later, the sound of the RING PLATFORM rings out through the ship, and then the demonic SERVANT of LORD ENGLISH is gone from the ship.  
  
"S...Send out search teams to cover the suspected area," Skhull Naihte orders to the room. "Bring them all to the Astria Porta. We'll banish them to the Garrison."  
  
"Y-Yes, Sir!" Someone accepts the orders, and goes off to do just that.  
  
And thus, Skhull Naihte looks down at the dead body of Balgra the Roothand, and kneels out of respect. "I will do my best to complete the mission, sir." He sighs, then does the dirty work he was saving for the far flung day he was planning to kill Balgra himself.   
  
He reaches down, undoes the CLASPS holding the SYNTHETIC RIGHT ARM to the shoulder, and then removes the massive, lumbering arm for himself.  
  
A fine piece of technology, that it is. Bio-organic machinery that operates like nothing else in this galaxy. A GIFT from the LORD himself, Balgra had bragged, after his DUTIFUL SERVICE centuries ago. Crafted to look like bones made out of DEAD WOOD, but so entirely, independently, symbiotically, ALIVE.  
  
Skhull Naihte takes a shaky breath, and then calls out an order:  
  
"Someone get me the finest bio-surgeon on board this ship. _I have an arm to replace_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Scratch. Scratch is the one enjoying this.


	24. ALT:03X11: Dammit, Dammek.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dammek does something questionable which may or may not pay off in the long run.

Your name is XEFROS TRITOH, and things are going to HELL.  
  
You had just left for the rendezvous point when Joey suddenly radioed saying that everyone needed to scatter because of the SUDDEN SHIP that had descended from orbit.  
  
Well, maybe not 'just'- at least a few good minutes- but still.  
  
At any rate, Dammek pulled over to a halt under some HEFTY TREE COVER and got that fucking LOOK IN HIS EYES. The same damned one that had gotten you into this whole Stargate mess in the first place. The same one that he'd had sending you to the MUSE'S HIVE.  
  
"Dammek," you say, tone warning. "I know that look. What are you planning?"  
  
"...Something everyone's going to hate me for," he answers, looking down at his hoodie's symbol. "Callie's REALLY going to hate me for this too."  
  
"Then don't do it," you say.  
  
"Yeeeah, but there's no real other way out of this..." He gets a grim smile on his face. "Besides, I figure you guys are gonna need those stun grenades for something, after all."  
  
"Oh fuck you," you scowl, hoping your tone conveys the total NON ROMANTIC, TOTALLY PLATONIC HATE behind that emotion.  
  
"Ask me again when you're not trying to kill me for being a big damned hero," Dammek laughs, as if he completely missed the sheer spite you tried to level toward this idea.  
  
...Seriously, Dammek? That is so far out of the realm of possibility that you honestly wonder what the hell is going through his head right now.  


* * *

 

Okurii's going to be pissed when she finds out you did this.  
  
You being DAMMEK, and this being DRIVING THE TRUCK out from cover, with your HOODIE TURNED INSIDE OUT and a CRUDE REPAINTING of a TRUE TAURUS sign on the inside with a small amount of BLOOD you drew from your own hand.  
  
It's not going to fool anyone but at a distance but that's exactly the point.  
  
"HEEEEYYY!" you yell out at one of the ships over head. "HEYYY! LOOK AT ME!!!" You wave your arms as quite a few SEARCH SHIPS turn their noses towards you. "I'M THE FUCKING SUMMONER! COME AND GET ME, ASSHOLES!!"  
  
And then you FUCKING GUN IT towards the Stargate as fast as your truck's engines can take you.

* * *

 

Again, you're Xefros Tritoh, and again, you ask, "Seriously, Dammek?" as you watch your EX MOIRAIL race through the underbrush, yelling and screaming like an idiot.  
  
"Is he always this dramatic?" the girl, SKYLLA KORIGA, asks.  
  
"Pretty much," you and Mierfa say in agreement.  
  
"Enough about the running distraction," Daraya says, "let's get moving."  
  
And so you take off through the forest on foot, heading in the direction Joey's Arai Beetles are trying their best to stealthily lead you around by.  
  
You can only wonder what your Moirail is even thinking at this point.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE and while you're mostly focused on GUIDING YOUR TEAM to safety, from the RELATIVELY SECURE position of sitting behind THE CURRENT ERA'S HEIRESS on a RATHER LOUD MOTORBIKE, you can't help but think to yourself:  
  
_'Damn it, Dammek. Damn you and your stupid hero complex.'_  
  
"They're moving on foot while one of my team leads the search parties away with the truck," You report to the girl on the bike with you. "He's yelling at everyone that he's the Summoner. Damn it. They're so going to cull him for this if they catch him."  
  
"Haha! That's got to either be the dumbest idea I've ever heard, or the smartest!" REENAH KRAKEN laughs. "If he makes it out alive, remind me to give him a fist bump!"  
  
"Sure, I guess," You reply back, and glance upwards at the large DRAGON flying off in a completely different direction, a trail of SCOUT SHIPS chasing after it.  
  
The MARQUISE has the Dragon, but the Dragon is just a DISTRACTION. The Summoner himself is leading the largest group of people personally to the next SAFE LOCATION.  
  
Splitting up seemed like a REALLY GOOD IDEA at the time, honestly, but you're not really a FAN OF IT RIGHT NOW.  
  
Seriously, Dammek. Couldn't you have done something different??  
  
But blowing up more ships is out of the question. That'd just draw way too much attention on yourselves than is needed... and possibly WAY too many ripples to count. Who knows if anybody on any of those ships are direct ancestors of anyone you KN-  
  
_**BOOM.**_  
  
You flinch as you hear the explosion TWO FOLD, once distantly through your human ears, and one MORE CLOSELY through an Arai's ears.  
  
And that was almost certainly related to Dammek in some way.  
  
Then, there's another _**BOOM,**_ and you hear a Dragon roar in pain.  
  
Damn it. There's no way that's good at all.

* * *

 

You're DAMMEK and WOW do your ears ring from that INTENTIONALLY NEAR MISS.  
  
They're shooting WARNING SHOTS AT YOU! Wow. They really must want you alive for some reason.  
  
You figure they'll do atleast ONE OR TWO MORE before they actually try to start killing you soooo... You keep driving for a bit longer.  
  
**BAAAM!**  
  
Ah, there's one that got a bit closer.  
  
You keep driving.  
  
**BWHAM-CRACK _CREEEEAAAK!_**  
  
Oh. They hit a tree that time.  
  
**THWAM** goes the tree as it lands in the road infront of you.  
  
Unfortunately, you are forced to stop lest you crash into it.  
  
Then, you're yanked out of your truck, thrown on the ground, and have RIFLES pointed at you by a few surly looking INDIGO BLOODS.  
  
"Hahaha...!" You raise your hands. "You got me! I surrender!"  
  
One of the Indigo Bloods glances at the other, who nods, flicks a switch on their gun and---  
  
_**PCH-ZYUU!**_  
  
\--The next think you know, you're snapping awake on board the FLIGHT DECK of some POSITIVELY ANCIENT Alternian Cruiser.  
  
Damn, stun rifles. You forgot those were a thing.  
  
"Well, well," says a SEA DWELLER MALE who steps into view. You can see he's RECENTLY replaced his right arm with... is that a fucking arm made out of TREE ROOTS? And is that... Yeah. He's got your damned HOODIE in his freaking MONSTER HAND. Well, regardless of what it's made out of, you can see the BLOOD still leaking from where he's evidently grafted the thing to his arm. "Look who's finally awake. A Taucer pretending to be Taurus. Tonight will truly be something to celebrate. My tentative promotion to COMMANDER Naihte, AND a capture to cement it."  
  
Ah. HIM.  
  
"Well well," you counter before you even think about what you're saying, "if it isn't the Dork Knight with a double amputation AND strirp-search fetish. Lovely. Backstabbed any people with that new hand of yours yet?"  
  
That stuns the TROLL for a moment. "What?"  
  
Skhull Naihte - the BACKSTABBING TRAITOR who would kill his commander, BALGRA THE ROOTHAND, for his SUPER WEAPON BIO-ARM.  
  
That's not supposed to happen for another HUNDRED SWEEPS though.  
  
Damn it, time line changes.  
  
"...Your arm's bleeding," You point out. "I was trying to troll you."  
  
"Ah," he says, glancing at his arm. "So I am." He then kneels down, looking you in the eyes. "So... 'Taucer'?" He holds up your HOODIE- right side out showing the right sign. YOUR SIGN. Damn it. "It takes guts to drive a truck into the front lines like that, especially at such a young age. My, how the Summoner treats his own people." He turns your hoodie inside out, revealing the PAINTED SIGN. "Was this his idea, or the Marquise's?"  
  
"Mine, actually," you admit. "Kinda always wanted to meet a ship captain face to face. Get a sort of friendly rivalry going." You pause, then say, "Last one I tried that with ended up deep fried by an overloading plasma cannon. Gal before him ended up crushed under her own ship. You know how it goes."  
  
"What you do in your feeble Roleplaying attempts means nothing to me," Skhull Naihte says, kneeling down. Looking you in the eyes. Oh. CRAP. Shades. Where did your shades go?? Damn it. "Tell me, Taucer, what do you know about the Summoner's Plans for Empress Meenah's return to Alternia?"  
  
"...Return?" you blink. "Didn't know she was coming back any time soon."  
  
"Oh, please, as if I'd fall for such an obvious, childish lie," The Troll shakes his head. "I will give the Summoner credit for hiring children into his petty rebellion, you're incredible spies who go unnoticed even WITH all the forewarning we've had to prepare our forces. But you're horrible liars. No sense of finnese. You couldn't make me believe a lie right now even if you tried." He laughs. "Now tell me. What do you know?"  
  
"...Okay," you say. "Fine." You can't believe you're going to do this but, OH WELL, thanks for the story idea, Joey. "Our plan was to exile to Empress to another galaxy centuries back in time, let her build up an army of her own to return to Alternia at the time of her exile, sneak onboard her new flag ship, plant a bomb, and then blow her the fuck up the moment she tries to leave orbit. We already did that last part, by the way. All that's left is to exile her to complete the loop. She's already dead. Fish Food. Burned to a crisp and atomized across the stars."  
  
"..." Skhull Naihte stares at you for a moment, blinking as he processes that. "...Okay, I will give you credit where it's due. The Summoner has managed to recruite some lovely story tellers out there. I almost bought that. Except for the part that she's already dead."  
  
"...The hell, dude?" You ask. "That was straight up the honest truth."  
  
"No, it's not," The Sea Dweller shakes his head. "I could see it in your eyes. As much as you HOPE that's the truth, you don't believe it at all. It's just too absurd, even for you."  
  
"...Well, Damn." You curse your own SKEPTICISIM.  
  
"Now, I know you likely won't tell me anything because you are simply under-informed, and almost certainly my other prisoner won't as well, though out of some crude facsimile of love instead," The Troll says, dropping your hoodie on the floor so that he can reach out and touch the side of your face rather CREEPILY.  
  
"Hey! Stranger Danger," You hiss at him, trying to get a rise out of the guy.  
  
He doesn't take the bait.  
  
"But that's why I'm not killing you," He says instead. "Instead, I'm sending you to the Garrison, where the people there WILL break you until you give them what we want to know."  
  
"Shit," you swear externally...  
  
Internally, however? "JACKPOT BABY!" a little voice inside your head that sounds suspiciously like JOEY CLAIRE cheers, as you try to keep the grin off your face.  
  
The GARRISON, historically, was one of THE baddest places around during this time frame. It has a reputation of NEVER LETTING GO of its prisoners- mainly because they end up BEING FED to some LOCAL NASTY WILDLIFE when the people there were done with them.  
  
A massive fortress few have ever seen the inside of, and even fewer have left alive.  
  
Also, supposedly that's where some of your POTENTIAL RESCUE-ES have been stowed away at. It was on your teams list of places to sight see while you were here. And this loud mouth of a backstabber is sending YOU there?? Free of charge with a one way ticket??  
  
OH, YES.  
  
HELL YES.  
  
HELL. FUCKING. YES.  
  
Free Reconnaissance Time.  
  
As you're wondering who the other CAPTURED PERSON is, a weapon is leveled at you and-  
  
_**PCH-ZYU!**_  
  
And then you're waking up in a cell block. Damn it. You really hate STUNNERS.  
  
You hear the grumbling, grinding sound of STONE ON STONE, distantly, and can FEEL THE VIBRATIONS of it up through the bed you're lying on.  
  
You get to your feet, frowning as you feel the floor vibrating beneath you.  
  
Not a space ship. They likely moved you off planet. Is this the Garrison, though?  
  
You head over to the small WINDOW in your cell wall, and peer out into the world beyond...  
  
JUNGLE. Nothing but jungle, tilting past you to your right from your left at a slow pace. You hear a distant ANIMAL ROAR.  
  
...Yeah, they sent you to THE GARRISON.  
  
You look around your cell and find that the only door in or out is barred by LASER BEAMS. You doubt you could slip past it at any point of your own accord, but maybe...  
  
That's when you check your pockets for something, and realize that your clothes have literally been stripped from you and replaced with some BOG STANDARD PRISON UNIFORM that doesn't even have the decency to have you SIGN printed on it.  
  
Well, shit.  
  
This just got a lot harder.  
  
...Yeah, Callie is going to be really mad about this.

* * *

 

Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you can't help but SIGH IN RELIEF as your team returns through Haven's Stargate from Alternia, accompanied by just about A LARGE CHUNK of the Summoner's Revolt team that you'd seen at the Dark Carnival.  
  
Conspicuously absent, however, is DAMMEK, and more importantly than Dammek, the MARQUISE.  
  
The grim look on the SUMMONER'S FACE says it all.  
  
"What the hell happened after we left?" Tyzias, of course, asks without so much as a single ounce of tact.  
  
And so Joey takes you both to the side and explains that Dammek made himself a diversion, got captured (AGAIN) and then was sent off to the NEXT MAJOR STOP on your RESCUE MISSION WORLD TOUR- The GARRISON. He wasn't the only one either.  
  
The Marquise's DRAGON had been SHOT DOWN at around the same time and she was captured as well. The Dragon was CULLED ON SIGHT.  
  
This is not how the end of the Revolt was supposed to begin. Not at all.  
  
And to be honest, you're just a LITTLE BIT MORE MAD at Dammek than anything else right now.  
  
Getting himself captured. BAH.  
  
At least one thing had been confirmed by it, though... And THAT is the RUMORED GATE ADDRESS of the Garrison's Stargate.  
  
Joey had Arai eyes on them as they were ferried through the Gate, and had seen the address.  
  
And more importantly, Joey had overheard the VERBAL PASSCODE to allow people to pass through the Gate safely.  
  
You can already start to feel the plan coming together before anyone's even spoken a word about the how.

* * *

 

"We're finished," The Summoner- Rufioh Nitram- hung his head in dismay. "Aranea'll spill the information of every base we have just to keep herself alive. Every secret code... every plan... Every...! DAMN IT ALL! I was a love struck fool to trust her! Damn it all!!"  
  
Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you don't think you can talk this guy out of his funk. A glance at the Heiress of the Era confirms that she can't either.  
  
"You're serious about breaking into the Garrison?" Reenah asks you.  
  
"We are," You nod. "We were serious about it even before this 'shocking' development."  
  
"...Count me in," she says. "I've got friends of mine held there too. People who don't deserve to be in there."  
  
You nod, "We'll get them out. All of them"  
  
Now, if only you had some stun grenades to use...  
  
You wait, expectantly, after thinking that for a moment, as if the Stargate would open and a bag of stun grenades would come tumbling out. Alas, nothing of the sort happens. You guess there weren't any CONVENIENT SOLAR FLARES.

Oh well. You'll just have to work around it, then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get... DICEY.


	25. SG1:03x17: New Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During those 100 days that O'neill was stuck on Edora, life at the SGC moves on.

**APRIL 23RD, 1997.**  
  
"Colonel O'neill is Missing in Action."  
  
That's what the report reads. Formal. Very precise, very clinical.   
  
It doesn't convey the sheer amount of terror running through the hearts of the people who know him best.  
  
After all, one tends to worry when a person you care about has gone missing after an alien planet has been hit by A METEOR SHOWER. Edora, a planet with peaceful natives and hefty Naquadah mines, is currently just out of reach by way of its Stargate being buried under a plate of solid rock. There's no way to tell if anyone left on the planet survived or not.   
  
Not until you can bury through the barrier and get to the surface.  
  
Your name is MAJOR SAMANTHA CARTER, and you're REALLY WORRIED about your team's commander.  
  
Is he dead? Alive? You just... you have to believe he's made it, and yet...  
  
 _[We'll figure this out, Sam,]_ Jolinar says within your head.   
  
_'I know, I just...'_ You run your hands through your hair as you stare at the blueprints for a PARTICLE GENERATOR. _'Three months, maybe four, to build this thing. That's entirely too long.'_  
  
 _[There's no real way to speed it up, though,]_ Jolinar says. _[Even if the other Tok'ra had the means to build it, or the Tollan were willing to offer anything other than send a ship in that area, it would still take several months to build the device.]_  
  
 _'I know,'_ you sigh. You KNOW. You so very much know it pains you.   
  
_[It's just a shame we couldn't recover the particle generator Sokar used during his attack on us,]_ Jolinar laments. _[Would have saved us so much time.]_  
  
 _'Indeed,'_ You sigh after quoting Teal'c. _'Alright, let's look over this all one more time before we file it for construction.'_  
  
 _[Alright.]_  
  
And thus, you and your head-mate work over the blueprints, trying not to think about anything but this. Not the possibility of Colonel O'neill already being dead, and not on what crazy adventures Teal'c and Skaara have gotten themselves into by going after the late-for-check-in SG-2 on a recently connected to planet.

* * *

 

You are now TEAL'C, and it seems this mission to P2X-416 has gone sideways in some rather annoying ways.  
  
Two continents- two governments with opposing beliefs... and of COURSE the Stargate would be buried on the side belonging to the people who believed they were literally created by a Goa'uld and not moved to this planet through the Stargate by said Goa'uld.  
  
You and Skaara had come through in an attempt to rescue SG-2, only to narrowly avoid capture yourselves. Because, yes, SG-2 was captured by these irrate locals fighting a war of ideology they'd already long ago lost.  
  
Now you, Skaara, and a local boy who probably should have been born on the other side of this conflict are the ones who are destined to save SG-2...  
  
...Oh, and you, personally, are going to have to do it blind- at least until your Symbiote heals and then heals you and...  
  
Yeah. This could take a while.  
  
You wish Colonel O'neill were here. He would have just the thing to say to lighten the mood.

* * *

 

Your name is DAVIS STRIDER and you honestly wish this would have happened to somebody else.  
  
SG-1 usually takes the brunt of weird missions like this, not your SG-2. Although, it seems that when SG-1 is out of play, it's SG-2 who comes into the fray. HAHAHAHA...hah... ha.  
  
Yeah. That'd be a whole lot funnier if you weren't trapped in a cage right about now.  
  
Ferretti, bless his heart, keeps trying to convince these people you're actually from another world here as explorers, but... You just get the feeling all it's doing is making them double down on their rhetoric.  
  
Sadly, you're all too familiar with the type. The kind of parents who'd raise their two sons by homeschooling and keeping them well out of the public eye. No school for them. And no friends to grow up with.  
  
Stifles a person, that. And when confronted with any kind of idea that tells them they're in the wrong, they just double down and say that they're right, and the ones telling THEM they're wrong are really the ones that are wrong.  
  
The kind of backwards double logic that made you and your Bro, DIRK, basically disown yourselves from your own family and go your separate ways.  
  
Dirk had taken a lot of the brunt of it growing up, being the older of the two of you. You were never entirely sure how the hell he managed to live on his own for so long just by doing DISK JOCKEYING and PUPPET VIDEOS, but you suppose finding that one bill on Jake Harley's Desk answered that question pretty soundly.  
  
You, on the other hand, had to choose something different. You just didn't have the cash for College, so you ended up reluctantly joining the Air Force. You met your own fair share of people like this there too, and then outside of that life as well, in your civilian life just living as best as you could in between deployments and assignments. Why, even on an alien planet, do you keep running across people like this? You just can't escape it. The few idiots who make your life harder than it needs be because they refuse to think that maybe they've had the WRONG IDEA this entire time.  
  
But no. Instead of changing their minds and listening to some COMMON SENSE, they choose instead to stick to their 'convictions' and their 'truths' that do nobody any good while they parade it around like... like...  
  
"You know," You finally snap, growling at the commander of the people holding you and your team hostage. "You're acting like a bunch of children who were raised to never grow up and actually think for themselves!"  
  
Probably not the wisest thing to say, because the man holding your team hostage- some guy name Rigar who fancies himself a Commander- decides to use a stunner device on you that HURTS LIKE HELL and doesn't really do much in the way of STUNNING.  
  
Ow. You're a much bigger fan of ZAT GUNS, to be honest.  
  
"And just like children," you grit out, ignoring Ferretti ordering you to stop talking, "you throw a tantrum when you're told what you're doing is wrong!!"  
  
That earns you another stunning blast that REALLY TICKLES- except you're being sarcastic and it doesn't tickle at all.  
  
While you're kind of out of it, you over hear one of them talking with this Rigar guy.  
  
"What if they are telling the truth? What if it is the Gateway and the Optricans are right?"  
  
"No," Rigar says, "it's a lie." He's full of conviction, you'll give him that much.  
  
"How can you be sure?"  
  
"I am sure because we have NOT spent our lives praying to a god who does not exist and many of our people have NOT lost their lives fighting a meaningless war. I won't accept that. I have studied the Nerfertum word for word, cover to cover. It. Is. The. Truth."  
  
And then it all clicks into place for you. Not only are these people IDIOTS who refuse to change how they think, they're RELIGIOUS IDIOTS who are wasting lives on a MEANINGLESS WAR.  
  
And. They. Know. It. Yet. They. Refuse. To. Change.  
  
It's the SUNK COST fallacy at it's finest (You mean WORST).  
  
They know they're staring straight in the face of ALL of their beliefs being proven false and instead of admitting that they were WRONG they... they just double down and say that their way is the TRUE WAY and nobody else is right but them.  
  
Because to say otherwise would be to admit that they've been killing their own people in a useless war. But instead of ENDING IT and admitting they were wrong and that they can now SAVE LIVES by stopping this fighting...  
  
They're just going to waste more money and waste more lives and waste more time by refusing to admit they're wrong.  
  
You really. REALLY. Fucking hate people like that. You hate having lived with them. You hate having to hear them on the News. You hate having worked with them. But most of all? You REALLY. REALLY FUCKING hate being CAPTURED by them.  
  


* * *

Your name is Jude Harley, and you're a little bit frustrated over the lack of videos filmed during your sister's TIME TRAVEL EXCURSION.  
  
Something big happened during all of that. Something big that shook Joey up a lot more than just hearing about PA being dead. You're not sure what it was or what happened, but you think it has something to do with someone she saw back then.  
  
As far as you can tell, it doesn't SEEM like anybody important to the rebellion died, but at the same time, Joey's being oddly EVASIVE about certain details of the time travel trip. Something happened. Something definitely happened, but as to what...  
  
"GAAAH!" You run your hands through your hair. "Just tell me what happened, Joey!! Stop obfuscating it all!!"  
  
She's definitely picked that up from PA. That she has. Damn it, for all the railing she did about him keeping secrets, here she is doing the exact same thing.   
  
Right now, you really wish you had the power generator necessary to Dial Alternia and go there and ask her yourself just what the hell happened.  
  
...But then again, maybe it's just in a video you haven't decoded yet.   
  
You go and triple check check to see if any new ones are close to being decoded, but, unfortunately, just like the last few times, nothing comes up.  
  
You sigh, and get up to go see what's up elsewhere in the base.  
  
Carter and Jolinar are working on the Particle Beamy Thing in their lab, Hammond is worrying over SG-2 and half of SG-1 off world, and Cassie is with her mom in the Med Bay keeping Nepeta distracted from realizing her daddy is missing.   
  
Again.  
  
You already know that Roxy is off base with Jade, and her kids, for some reason or another, so that's something you don't have to worry about right now.  
  
You head to the Quantum Mirror room and see that it's currently set to Keiko's world- where she's presently discussing something with Mckay across the mirror using a dry-erase whiteboard.  
  
You leave and let them be.  
  
Eventually, you find your way back to your PA'S OFFICE, and you settle in on the spinning chair.  
  
Spiiin.  
  
Spiiiiin.  
  
Spiiiiiiiin.  
  
You waste about two minutes doing this before you get bored and decide to go scour through the Stargate Address Library to try and help push the HUNT FOR KHEB forwards a bit more.  
  
Who knows, maybe you'll luck out and stumble onto it by sheer luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "100 Days" gaaah. Just. "100 Days" of sitting around at the SGC doing nothing???  
> NO SUCH THING.  
> NOPE. NO SUCH THING.
> 
> So here. Have some SIMULTANEOUS ADVENTURES from later in the season being shoved into the time gap.


	26. ALT:03X12: Convergence, Part 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A watched kettle never whistles. 
> 
> ...That's how the saying goes, isn't it?

Your name is Joey Claire, and you're itching to get going on this rescue mission. Of course, you wanted your team rested up and ready to go, but sleep is not coming easily to you tonight.  
  
Just another few hours to go, and you're off to the rescue.  
  
And so you lean against a tree and stare at Haven's Stargate.  
  
"Hey," Reenah Kraken, the current Heiress of the Era, says as she comes up behind you suddenly. "Can't sleep either?"  
  
"Nope," You answer, frowning at the Gate. "I'm nervous and anxious to get going."  
  
"Same," Reenah says, leaning against a different tree next to you.  
  
For a few moments, you stand there, silently staring at the Stargate.  
  
Then, Reenah speaks, "Can I tell you something personal?" She asks. "Like, in confidence? Heiress to Heiress?"  
  
"Not really a heiress," you say. "My blood's red, not pink."  
  
"You're wearing the Bracelet, aren't ya?" Reenah says more than asks.  
  
"Okay, yeah," you agree. "Fair enough. Go ahead."  
  
"...I'm not supposed to be here," she says. "Not even in this whole Rebellion thing. Not even supposed to be alive."  
  
"History says otherwise," you say.  
  
"Well, sure," she says, "but... that's not what I mean." There's a moment's pause, then she says, "I'm not really Reenah Kraken."  
  
You raise an eyebrow at her, "Really?" You ask. "You don't say?" You're pretty sure it's only due to not having gotten any sleep tonight that you're not at all stunned by this otherwise stunning revelation.  
  
"Hah... guess you already knew that, huh?" she asks. "Bracelet told ya it'd twisted me around?" she raises her right wrist, and you feel SHAPER pulse on your own wrist in time with the pulsing pink light on Reenah's wrist.  
  
"I don't think so," you shrug. "Honestly, it's not been telling me much before I'm ready for it."  
  
"...Huh." Reenah stares at you for a few moments, then says, "I was Reenah's Moirail. Maybe we could've been more than that one day, I dunno." She looks upwards at the stars, or maybe just the tree branches over head, and continues, "She was hunting for the Bracelet. I was helping her. We bested every trap, but... this last one malfunctioned or something. I don't even know what went wrong. She reached for the Bracelet and-" She closes her eyes, and a tremor visibly runs down her body. "It was supposed to be ME."  
  
You can hear her choking back a sob and you honestly have no idea what to say or do.  
  
"Next thing I know she's shoving the Bracelet on my wrist and the damned thing is glowing and then our-" she reaches up and touches her own face. "It was like looking in a backwards mirror. She had my face, I had hers. I walked out of there Reenah Kraken, and she... she died like that. BROKEN. Looking like ME." There's a silent pause, then she says, "I couldn't tell anyone, y'know? Summoner doesn't know. Marquise doesn't know. Nobody knows. It's been driving me crazy. Trying to be the Heiress I know Reenah wanted to be. I'm not sure I'm even doing a good job of it."  
  
Then, she turns to look you in the eyes.  
  
"I'm gonna die, aren't I?" she asks. "No other way you're gonna get that Bracelet, right?"  
  
"...History Books say yes," you say. "During the fight with the Condesce."  
  
"Damn," She laughs- sounding choked up. "Guess that means I really flub it up."  
  
"Doesn't mean you will, though," you say. "The history books say Skylla and her team died on that stage in that Carinval. They look pretty alive right now." You pause, then add, "The books also say that Chahut girl was supposed to be some kind of super Clown General who went mad and eventually got killed by her own ancestor..." You decaptchalogue your laser cutter, and hold the metal shaft in your hand, [taking in the details](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwarsrebels/images/d/d0/Kanan%27s_Lightsaber.png/revision/latest?cb=20150221190431).  
  
A base body of silver. Dark grey grips around the handle. A kind of heat sensitive pressure trigger in a rectangular frame in the middle. A slightly larger metal dish near the top, serving as a hand guard. And then there's the emitter cap, flat and round, save for a small extra shield on one side.  
  
"Well, just look what happened to her because of me," You hold the cutter as a sword, and place your thumb over the trigger sensor.  
  
**SNAP- _HISSSSSSS._**  
  
Reenah stares at the BRIGHT BLUE BLADE for a moment, then she says. "You really wrecked history?  
  
"Did it once already," you say, releasing the sensor, and away goes the blade. "All I need to get the Bracelet in the future is have you lose it to the Empress, and have her scatter the pieces across the Galaxy... then I cut it off the wrist of the previous Heiress of my time and leave her to die on a planet about to be eaten by a Super Nova Sun."  
  
"You've certainly got the Heiress mentality, alright," Reenah remarks. "What'd the bitch do to deserve that kind of fate?"  
  
"Blew up my Moirail's home town," you say, recaptchaloguing the laser cutter's hilt. "Ran through the Stargate like a coward the moment the Clowns turned on her. Would have wiped out all life in the galaxy with a Vast Glub if I hadn't gotten the Bracelet away from her."  
  
"Yowch," Reenah hisses. "Sounds like she deserved it."  
  
"Maybe," you say. "Part of me hopes she survived, though, if only because that'd be a harsher punishment than being eaten by an exploding sun... Is that wrong of me?"  
  
"Nah," Reenah laughs. "You sound like a proper Heiress to me."  
  
"I don't want to be a heiress, though," you say. "I'd rather just blow up the Royal Lusus and be done with it. But... we're afraid we might need it against the Mofang's weapons. So... yeah. I'm stuck with it for now."  
  
"Maybe that's a good thing," Reenah says, glancing at her bracelet. "Neither of us feel worthy of it, so maybe we'll do the right things with it."  
  
"Maybe," you say. "Either way? We'll get our friends back."  
  
And then you're gonna do something to Dammek that'll make him regret doing this kind of thing.  
  
...Maybe you'll give him hair that changes colors like an eternally shifting rainbow? He'd just hate that!

* * *

 

If there was any one thing about the prison complex known as THE GARRISON that could be said with any real certainty, you're pretty sure it's CLOCKWORK PRECISION TIMING.  
  
You, of course, are DAMMEK, and you've only been here for what you've counted for yourself as TWENTY FIVE HOURS for what would normally have been a full DAY/NIGHT CYCLE on Alternia.  
  
You've spent a vast majority of that time in your cell- let out only once to "Eat" before being shoved back into your cell. And while you'd be pissed that you apparently don't rank HIGH ENOUGH to be tortured for information, you're more concerned that you never saw the SUN MOVE ONCE in the entire time.  
  
The sun doesn't move. The sun doesn't move and yet there's plant life out there growing and not burning outside your window. How the hell? There's no day/night cycle that you can see. What kind of hell planet is this that this is even possible?  
  
As you are shoved through Mess Hall's doors and let loose for a few brief minutes, you take the chance to look around. You find an ADULT RUST BLOOD WOMAN who's working the FOOD COUNTER, and so you go up there to get "Food." She looks familiar some how... Maybe it's the horns? Either way, you'll risk talking to her as you get... uh...  
  
Bluh. It seems today is "Undientified Oblong Meat Products" day.  
  
"So, uh..." You ask quietly as the woman drops an OBLONG MEAT PRODUCT in a GREEN BUN (That's not supposed to be green, once you look closely) on your tray, "what's with the day/night cycle here?"  
  
"Day of Light, Day of Dusk, Day of Night, Day of Dawn," The lady says curtly. "Now scram."  
  
You glance at her, wondering what's so familiar about her, and then you go to sit down at a table.  
  
That's when it HITS YOU. That kid in your neighborhood with the obsession with the OBLONG MEAT PRODUCTS. That woman has to be his ancestor, you'll bet. If they let people wear SIGNS in this place, you'd know for sure.  
  
What was his name again? Damien? Daimon? Diemen? Diemen Xicali. That was it.  
  
You'll have to ask her next time you get a chance if her family name is XICALI. Wait, how did it go pronunciation wise again? Was it Zeek-A-LIE or ZEE-ca-LEE?  
  
...Callie.  
  
Shit.  
  
You hope she made it to the Gate alright.  
  
At any rate, the lunch lady had given you a bit of crucial information. Light to Dusk to Night to Dawn.  
  
This planet's day/night cycle had a full Alternian day of sun light and a slow enough rotation that one day here was equivalent to FOUR DAYS back on Alternia.  
  
You remove your OBLONG MEAT PRODUCT from its MOLDY BUN and eat it by hand.  
  
...It's room temperature. Blech.  
  
You kinda hope this lunch lady's descendant doesn't inherit any fondness for ROOM TEMPERATURE MEAT. That's just not safe food handling.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, a man on a Moon looks over the submitted profiles of two captured INDIVIDUALS.  
  
"Good job, Commander Naihte," SCRATCH says. "The Marquise has been a long wanted criminal for a long time. That alone is enough to prove your worth in the eyes of English, the Empress, and myself."  
  
"Thank you, Scratch Doctor," the Commander bows to a kneeling position.  
  
"I am interested in your choice to send such a young boy to the Garrison, however," Scratch mulls it over. "A Taucer pretending to be the Summoner? How foolish, and yet..." he turns to face the Commander. "You chose not to Cull him. Why?"  
  
"Though I feel the boy knows nothing of the current plans, he did let slip a few details that he did seem to believe true enough to hope that what he was saying would not be taken as true," Commander Naihte says. "I want to see what happens when he slips up and confirms more details. He might be aware of much grander plans by other parties."  
  
"Such as?" Scratch inquires.  
  
"Such as the Alien presence that the Empire's forces are currently dealing with," Commander Naihte says. "I believe he may be a spy turned to work for them."  
  
"Interesting hypothesis," Scratch muses. "We will have to see if that is the case. Do keep me informed if he mentions anything important."  
  
"Of course, Scratch Doctor," Commander Naihte bows his head again, hiding the smirk that just couldn't wait.

* * *

 

Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK, and you review the plans one more time in your head as everyone gears up for the mission.  
  
The internal structure of the prison building of the Garrison was something of an EGG SHAPE. In the center of it all was a giant massive space that held some kind of SENTIENT, ETERNALLY RECONFIGURING TORTURE MAZE which was what prisoners were put into and forced to run until they answered the questions they were being asked.  
  
On the bottom floors, surrounding it that core, were some "Executives Suites," conference rooms, and observation lounges.  
  
Above that began to house the RELAXATION VAULTS, for the Prisoners to rest in when not running the Eternal Maze, or not eating.  
  
Above THOSE floors were the TOP LEVEL, containing the CAFETERIA, and the "YARD." It wasn't much of a yard, to be honest. Just a rooftop under an umbrella of a rooftop and a bunch of towering BRIDGES over head from which guards walked and paced overhead.  
  
That was the weak point. The only part of the entire building that was exposed to the air. The trick was getting up to it and working down.  
  
Thankfully, the ADMINISTRATION BUILDING with the Stargate in it was less secure.  
  
The whole thing was designed, as far as the blueprints showed, to be a massive well containing the Stargate on some kind of height and angle variable, gyroscopic track. There are three floors, a ground floor, a second floor, and a roof. There are elevators, but they skip the second floor entirely.  
  
On the First floor is LOCKERS and STORE ROOMS- basically nothing of importance if someone managed to get through the gate. The Second floor is where the DHD and GATE CONTROLS are, as well as a POWER ROOM, and OFFICES. You're not sure how anyone is supposed to get up there except possibly by way of abusing the Stargate's lift arms, and hopping through the only observation window in existence. The third floor is just the roof of the building, and is how people get from that building to the Prison Complex.  
  
The two buildings SPIN. And there's a BRIDGE in the middle between them on a small island to keep foot traffic slow.  
  
The Administration Building has but one Bridge, the Prison building has... six? Six seems to be the reported number but it could be anywhere from four to eight, in all honesty. You think those bridges were designed to be retractable/extendable.  
  
It was a gauntlet designed to make mass troop movements hard to pull off.  
  
But you're going to do it anyways.  
  
"Alright!" Joey Claire calls out, a swarm of Arai Beetles surrounding her. "Dial the Gate!" A gleam is in her eyes, and the LASER CUTTER in hand. "Mission: Prisonbreak is a GO!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Garrison" world design is borrowed pretty heavily from the age "Gahreesen" from the game Myst Online: URU Live.


	27. ALT:03X13: Convergence, Part 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PRISONBRE*TOMATO'D*
> 
> ....
> 
> ...
> 
> ..
> 
> .
> 
> Okay, fine.
> 
> JAIIIILBRREAAAAAK!!!

The Technician in the Well's Control Room Tapped her fingers against her coffee mug as she waited for her shift to end.  
  
The Teal Blood leaned back in her chair, then took a sip of her coffee.  
  
Today was just another boring day here in the Garrison, and nothing was going to happen so soon after yesterday's unscheduled deposit of two prison-  
  
**THWUNK.**  
  
-Er.  
  
**THWUNK THWUNK THWUNK.**  
  
The Stargate began dialing, and the AUTOMATED SYSTEM lifted the Gate up into the air, bringing it up to view straight across from your window and tilting it UPWARDS.  
  
**THWUNK THWUNK.**  
  
The Technician primes the ENERGY NET at the mouth of the well to catch any POTENTIAL MISSILE BASED ATTACKS as they exit the Gate, and wait.  
  
**KA THWUNK. WAAA WAAA! KAWOOOOSH!**  
  
As the light of the opening vortex shoots upwards and colapses down, the Technician checks for a broadcast code...  
  
_\--DeeeDoooDeepDoopDeepDeeeDoopDeep--_  
  
...And in it comes!  
  
"Huh..." She frowns. "Hey, Jhames? Is this right?"  
  
"What is it, Chisuu?" Another technicain comes over- a Cerulean blood- who looks at the screen.  
  
"It's an Identification code for Commander Naihte, but it's being broadcast on a frequency we don't use," the Technician points at the screen.  
  
"The hell?" Jhames looks at the screen. "That's... weird."  
  
_Schlorp! Schlorp!_ Neither care to notice that something came through the Stargate that didn't go right back through... because two things came through instead.  
  
"Should we notify the Commander that his code's been compr _oOH **FUCK!!!"**_ The sudden turn from question to scream makes the male Technician turn to look upwards at the window and-  
  
"WHAT THE-!?"  
  
Glowing Bugs- Arai Beetles- float outside the window.  
  
The two Technicians stare at the bugs for a moment- and then look at the Stargate as more of them come through, passing through the eventhorizon at slow enough speed to not trigger the missile nets.  
  
And then something LARGER slips through the eventhorizon. It's clad in armored shells and looking like a giant version of the tiny bugs, and its glowing wings buzz ANGRILY as its eyes LOCK ONTO THEIRS and holds their gaze. The thought to call this in- to do SOMETHING. ANYTHING- rushes through the two technician's minds, but then another thought suppresses it.  
  
**[You don't need to contact your superiors.]**  
  
"We.... don't need to contact our superiors," Both Technicians say aloud, almost as if in a trance.  
  
**[Everything is perfectly normal.]**  
  
"Everything is perfectly normal," they repeat.  
  
**[You'll disable the energy net now. And lock the doors too.]**  
  
"I'll disable the energy net now," the female teal blood says, typing in the control console and deactivating the field. "And locking the doors." She stands up and away from the console.  
  
A moment passes, then...  
  
**[And don't forget to shut down the security sensors on the window, too.]**  
  
"Can't forget to shut down the security sensors on the window," the Cerulean blood repeats as he types more into the console.  
  
**[You want to back away from the window now.]**  
  
And then enough control is relinquished over them that the two technicians realize just what is happening moments before everything changes.  
  
The plates- no not chitinous, the two technicians suddenly realize, but made of metal- push away, revealing them to have merely been held in place by more of the regular sized Beetles. But the wings stay in place- revealing the ANGRY POLYARCH within the frame: a young troll girl with a CRIMSON PYRAMID AND A SMALL SUN over head for her symbol, one whose eyes are glowing a BRILLIANT GREEN and her left wrist is shimmering with the light of a RAINBOW.  
  
The two Technicians stare, locked in a daze, even as their bodies move on their own to back away a safe distance from the window.  
  
FWOOOOOM! -A wave of energy launches from the bracelet-  
  
CRAAASSHH! -Shatters the window as it passes through-  
  
 WHUMP. -And knocks the two technicians out cold as it passes through them.  
  
Thus done, the metal plates held by the Arai Beetles are pulled far away from the Gate, and the floating girl drifts safely to the other side of the window, even as she radios. "Door's down. Fly Dragon, Fly."  
  
A moment later, the DRAGONFLY shoots out through the Stargate- launching vertically and shooting upwards higher and higher faster than any automated turret devices can chase after it.  
  
As Alarms begin sounding, the girl known to very few in this time plane as Joey Claire types at the controls, and tilts the Stargate towards the window. She directs the Arai Beetles with the metal plates into position, forming a makeshift ramp. "Stairs up," she radios.  
  
As yelling and shouting comes from the other side of the doors, Xefros, Callie, and Tyzias quickly step through the Gate, run along the makeshift ramp, and then enter the control room.  
  
"Oh wow," Tyzias gasps as she looks at the teal blood on the floor, or more specifically, the SIGN on her jacket. "I think she might be my ancestor." She turns to Joey and asks, "you didn't kill her, did you?!"  
  
"Just knocked her out," Joey confirms.  
  
"Okay, good," Tyzias nods.  
  
That's when power to the CONSOLE shuts down, as does a lot of the LIGHTING in the room.

* * *

 

"Oh, good," Your name is XEFROS TRITOH, and you speak with a bit of ENTHUSIASM that the plan is so-far going as predicted, "they shut down the power."  
"That means it's time for me to do this, then," Joey says, raising her arm towards the DOOR on the far wall.  
  
You see the yellow crystal GLEAM, and you wisely warn your team, "EYES!"  
  
Everyone covers their eyes, and yet you STILL see the burst of red and blue light shining past.  
  
Then, you hear the explosion of ROCK AND METAL, and the screams of the IMMINENTLY VAPORIZED.  
  
When the light fades and you take a look, you see that a large gash has been made through the wall, and then the wall beyond that. You can see SPINNING BEDROCK with GEAR GROOVES carved into it rotating past the smoking hole in the wall. Or rather, you're rotating, it's staying stationary. Whatever.  
  
"Go wait for the hole to come back around," Joey says, "I'll go clear a path down to the ground floor so we can use the elevators."  
  
With a nod of confirmation, you, Callie, and Tyzias go over to the far wall and wait for the hole to come back around again. You glance back as you wait, hearing the ROAR of energy meeting stone, and a moment later the entire fortress SHAKES as another burst of blue and red light flashes through the destroyed door. Well, that and a few quickly vaporizing pieces of ROCK WALL.   
  
"She's really getting into this whole 'blowing shit up' thing, isn't she?" Tyzias asks, even as Skylla, Daraya, and Mallek come hopping through the Stargate and run down the ramp to go join Joey on her part of the mission.  
  
"That she is," You agree, a little concerned for your Moirail's sanity.  
  
Then, the hole in the wall comes around, still smoking around the edges, and the three of you jump in before it goes by and you'd have to wait again.  
  
As you wait, you ready a STUN GRENADE.  
  
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Callie asks as the building rotates past you.  
  
"Well, unless they have a different way of getting power to this building..." Tyzias shrugs.  
  
Then, the wall opens up and you see the POWER ROOM, and the entire skeleton crew staff of THREE TROLLS waiting inside for their signal to reboot the power.  
  
You toss the STUN GRENADE into the room before any of them can react- and then the room is gone, replaced once more by solid wall.  
  
You HEAR the high pitched whine of the stun grenade ramp up and fade away much faster than it would have if you'd stayed stationary... or rather, if the building and thus the grenade had stayed stationary. (Bluh. This is getting confusing.)  
  
"I guess it is going to work," Callie says, as the gap in the wall leading back to the Gate control room spins by, and then is gone.  
  
"Question," Tyzias says.  
  
"Shoot," You say.  
  
"What's powering the building's rotation if the power room generates the power for the entire base BY spinning?" Tyzias asks.  
  
"...I don't think that's a question we have time to answer right now," Callie says, "but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a hidden floor beneath all of this that's generating its own power supply some how."  
  
"Wonder if it's enough to dial out to another planet in another galaxy?" Tyzias offers.  
  
But before either you or Callie can think much of it, the POWER ROOM comes around again and the three of you leap off onto a giant gear that's sunken into the floor.  
  
"Time to get to work," you say.  
  
Restoring power is as simple as priming levers, pressing a few foot pedals, and raising a giant gear.  
  
...You leave the circuit powering the doors off for the time being, though. There are people knocking at the doors sounding VERY ANGRY and are trying to pry them open. No sense letting them in right away, right?  
  
After about a minute, though, they go silent. Joey probably got them, but you'll wait for her signal to evacuate before you turn the doors back on.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE and you've just blown a hole into the floor separating the second floor from the first.  
  
You leap down on your glowing wings, and, staring down the startled TROLL SOLDIERS half-dressed in armor in their LOCKER ROOM, throw another command through REGENT to put them to sleep.  
  
They collapse to the floor just as Daraya, Mallek, and Skylla join the party- mostly by way of climbing down the ruble you've left behind from your previous explosion.  
  
"...Wow," Skylla remarks, "Ya'll sure aren't bein' subtle for the whole 'time travelers' thing."  
  
"Subtlty flew out the window the minute Joey beheaded that girl at the Carnival," Daraya surmises.  
  
"Fair point," Skylla says.  
  
You take stock of the LOCKER ROOM, and see, first of all, that your latest explosive stunt has caused part of the ceiling to colapse onto the only other doorway in the room. Fortuitously, your latest explosive stunt has torn a HOLE IN THE WALL between a locker and the doors, allowing you access to the rest of the base.  
  
"Follow me," you say, and lead the way. More trolls come running at you, but you STUN THEM with REGENT'S MIND BLASTS.  
  
As much fun as you had JEDI MIND TRICKING those two Technicians, you're kind of terrified by how easy it is to puppet people around with it. Is this what the Marquise has had all these years? It's no wonder she became a pirate originally.  
  
You wonder how much of the Summoner's Revolt is her doing, and WOW is that a terrifying thought. You put it out of mind and try not to think about it as you meander the hallways.  
  
Speaking of hallways, it seems that some of the Trolls on this floor have done you the IMMENSE FAVOR of prying open the SECURITY DOORS during the power outage and that gives you a clear path to meander around the base with.  
  
You've done a complete circuit of the ground floor when the lights come back on, but strangely, the doors that are closed remain closed. Thankfully, though, the ELEVATORS are powered.  
  
You send the PLATE CARRYING ARAI BEETLES to scour the rest of the building for anybody else awake (And to put them to sleep using Regent through said Beetles) while your group gets onto the elevator and goes Up, Up, and Away.

* * *

 

Your name is MIERFA DURGAS and you ZIP the Dragonfly through the air, dodging LASER FIRE and GUN FIRE alike. In the seat behind you, the Heiress REENAH KRAKEN takes pot shots at the towers shooting lasers at you.  
  
It's an ODD SIGHT, and it comes with an added DEFENSE MEASURE nobody had seen coming. The two buildings are resting on small islands rising out of a RATHER LARGE LAKE. Oh well, it doesn't change much to the plan. A Lake is a whole lot more PRETTIER TO LOOK AT and SAFER TO SKIM ACROSS than a large canyon with NASTY SPIKES at the bottom.  
  
One of the DEFENSE TOWERS on the first building gets speared at an angle and colapses onto the rooftop, and THAT gets the lasers on that buidling to all go silent.  
  
"NICE SHOT!" you appraise.  
  
"THANKS!" Reenah laughs.  
  
Here you are, working with another Heriess, you muse as you bring the Dragonfly in for a BUZZING PASS around the top floor of the SECOND BUILDING. (Reenah blasts a few more times at the people still shooting at you.) Trizza Tethis was a horrible kind of person, you knew that on an instinctive level. Her only usage for you and your teammates was CANNON FODDER. She never got her hands dirty unless she ABSOLUTELY HAD TO. And that was probably for the best, because when TRIZZA TETHIS got her hands dirty... well, you saw first hand how UNRESTRAINED her usage of HYPERBEAM was. Trizza was a sledge hammer; Joey and Reenah restrict themselves to PIN POINT, surgical uses of the energy blasts.  
  
You'd like to think that says something about their character.  
  
"We're on the roof!" Joey's voice echoes in your ear, and you grunt out a confirmation, before swooping around and buzzing the bridge of of the first building. Daraya, Mallek, and Skylla leap onto the Dragonfly's body, and Joey takes off with her wings.  
  
You swoop the Dragonfly in through the gap between the umbrella roof and the "Yard," startling every single one of the guards.  
  
Reenah blasts them all with the KNOCKOUT POWERS of the BLUE CRYSTAL just like Joey had insisted they do for this plan.  
  
And then, you spot the ELEVATOR DOORS.  
  
You turn into A SPIN, and Reenah, Mallek, Daraya, and Skylla jump out during it, landing in a crouch next to the elevator doors. Joey lands next to them, and together they enter the building.  
  
You swoop back out of the second building, and make your way towards the BRIDGE in the middle of it all.  
  
Oh, the poor trolls on it, waiting for the first building's bridge to loop back around, are going to be in for the shock of their life. You think they might be SEA DWELLERS going by the color of their clothes. Well, that makes you feel A LITTLE BIT BETTER about this next part.  
  
You swoop in for a BUZZ CUT, extend the landing gear, and ROAR OVERHEAD.  
  
You glance in a SIDE MIRROR and watch as all of those trolls throw themselves off of the bridge to avoid LOSING THEIR HEADS to the CLAWS on the Dragonfly's landing feet.  
  
They go flying and flying down into the waters below.  
  
_**SPLOOSH!**_

Boo. Yeah.

* * *

 

Your name is DARAYA JONJET and you're feeling SO EXCITED right now.  
  
Your teammate Mallek has HACKED IN and is unlocking EVERY OCCUPIED CELL in the building. You and Skylla are meanwhile rushing through the place, leading everyone freed to the elevator to take them down to the ground floor.  
  
Meanwhile to all of that, JOEY and REENAH duel with the LOCAL A.I. that's QUITE MAD you're trying to interrupt it's 'TESTING' (More like TORTURING) of the Prisoners.  
  
**"PSYCHIC ABILITIES ARE NOT PERMITTED IN THIS TESTING CHAMBER!"** The A.I. of the place shrieks- sounding like an enraged older woman. **"STOP THIS AT ONCE!!"**  
  
"NOT HAPPENING!" Joey and Reenah yell- and you hear something get TOTALLY SHREDDED by sheer psycic force of will. (The lights flicker as something then goes BOOM.)  
  
Why bother with the A.I., Skylla had asked. The answer was simply, because there are people stuck in it.  
  
The Marquise was not in her cell, and thus it makes sense that she'd be in the maze somewhere.  
  
"What the hell is going on!?" Dammek suddenly asks as he joins up with your group. You barely recognized him dressed in prison garb and missing his damned glasses. "I thought today was Flavor Disk Day, not 'blow up everything in sight' day?"  
  
"Glad to see ya haven't lost yer sense of humor!" Skylla remarks.  
  
"Did you see the Marquise anywhere?" You ask Dammek.  
  
"No??" He frowns. "Wait- was SHE the other prisoner in this place they sent with me?"  
  
"That's what we heard!" You say.  
  
"Well, SHIT!" Dammek swears. "That's not good!"  
  
"No, it ain't!" Skylla agrees.

* * *

 

Your name, much as you hate to say it, is REENAH KRAKEN and you're having the TIME OF YOUR LIFE.  
  
Using PSYCHIC BLASTS and GRIPS to systematically dismantle this STUPID FUCKING MAZE and enrage the A.I. controlling it is SO MUCH FUN.  
  
You feel, almost, like this could be a GAME. Tear open a "TEST CHAMBER"- as the A.I. calls it- and pluck the prisoner out of it and send them on their way. 100 POINTS!  
  
Okay, maybe that's a bit cheap of a POINT VALUE, but still, you get the idea perfectly because it's YOUR IDEA!!!  
  
If you ever survive this whole 'revolt' thing and make it to Joey's future, you are SO going to make a game out of this.  
  
**"STOP THAT! I-I-I-I-I-I- _WEEEEEEE ARE PLEASED_ THAT YOU MADE IT TO THE FINAL CHALLENGE WHERE I PRETENDED THAT SOMEONE WAS COMING TO RESCUE YOU! PLEASE! STAY SEATED IN YOUR TEST CHAMBERS AND IGNORE ALL ATTEMPTS AT CONVINCING YOU TO LEAVE THE TESTING AREA!"**  
  
"Is ANYONE dumb enough to buy that?!" Joey asks, glancing at you as she deflects a LASER BEAM with a PIECE OF METAL WALL.  
  
"I Sure HOPE NOT!" You yell, grabbing a small, white, egg shaped LASER TURRET and throw it at a stack of its companions- they get knocked over and make a WONDERFUL SOUND.  
  
"NICE STRIKE!!" Joey cheers- referencing something you don't understand because it's probably from the future.  
  
And then the A.I. suddenly starts freaking out over something neither of you are doing.

* * *

 

Your name is MALLEK ADALOV and...  
  
**"HEY! NO! KEEP AWAY FROM THAT TERMINAL!"** The A.I. yelling at you tells you you're on the right track.  
  
You brute force your way past a 32 character password by way of smashing a VERY FANCILY DECORATED TERMINAL'S casing with a handily convenient PRYBAR.  
  
**"NONONONONO! KEEP AWAY! DON'T TOUCH THAT- THAT- THAT! STOP PRYING INTO THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T BE PRYING INTO!!"**  
  
And then you rip away the top to reveal a small orange sphere with a glowing yellow eye on it glaring up at you.  
  
_"Oh no,"_ says the A.I. from some very tiny speakers instead of the ones sequestered around the building.  
  
"But have you considered? ' _Oh yes_ '?" You grin as you twirl the Prybar around and prepare to YOINK the A.I.'s processing unit out of its hidden terminal.

* * *

 

You are CALLIE OHPHEE, and as soon you all hear the PLEASANT NEWS in your ears that THE PRISONERS ARE FREED and are heading for the bridge to escape to the Stargate, Xefros grins and flick on the power to the DOORS.  
  
"C'mon!" he says. "Time for us to go move a Stargate to the ground floor!"  
  
You quickly make your way through the once locked doors to the CONTROL ROOM, and you sit down and WORK YOUR MAGIC- shutting the Gate down, moving it to the ground floor, and beginning the DIALING SEQUENCE for an abandoned world that is MOST CERTAINLY NOT HAVEN.  
  
Can't have anyone checking the computers and following you back home, now can you?  
  
_**WAA WAAA!**_ The gate, lying flat on its back on the floor, then _**KAWOOSHES**_ upwards into the air, just as Joey requested you position it.  
  
That done, you and your team climb down the wrecked floor to the Gate room itself, and stand as guides for the people soon rushing out of the elevator in bursts.  
  
"Hurry through and clear the way for more people!" You tell them. "Don't stop moving on the other side, please!"  
  
Trolls of all ages then take their running leaps into the Stargate. Funny, it almost looks like a pool of water, angled this way.

* * *

 

You're JOEY CLAIRE, EXTRAORDINAIRE yet again!  
  
You take flight and land on the back of Mierfa's Dragonfly as it passes by the bridge.  
  
"Keep us orbiting around the bridge," You request. "As soon as everyone's through the Gate, I'm tearing it out of that tiny little island!"  
  
"You're what!?" Mierfa asks- surprised. "Why?"  
  
"I'm gonna hold it over us as we go through the Stargate," you say. "They're going to have to WORK to get Gate access again!"  
  
"I like the sound of it!" Mierfa laughs. "We are SO celebrating tonight!"  
  
"Oh, that we are!" You agree, grinning brightly at your Matesprit.  
  
Soon, you get confirmation from Xefros that he, Callie, and Tyzias are the last ones to go through, besides you and you tell them to go while focusing HYPERBEAM and REAPER'S POWERS on the bridge between the buildings.  
  
_**GRIIIIIND**_ \- the metal supports complain, and then- _**RIIIIIIPPPP!!!**_ It's FREE, and a few tiny rocks are falling down into the pool below.  
  
You angle it so that the bridge is trailing behind the Dragonfly like a tail, and you give Mierfa THE NOD.  
  
And thus she puts the Dragonfly into a nosedive- shooting down through the GARRISON'S WELL, and then you let go of the psychic grip a second before- SCHLORP!  
  
"WAAAHHHOOO!" Mierfa yells out in glee as you pull upwards on the other side of the Stargate- which shuts down seconds later with a sudden lurch.  
  
You're home free... if not for the fact that the Marquise wasn't anywhere inside the Prison building at all. Not in her cell, and not inside the MAZE.  
  
You have no idea where she is, but you've got the feeling that The Summoner isn't going to be happy about this when he finds out.

* * *

 

The man known as SCRATCH paused as he felt what could only be described as a DISTURBANCE in the time line.  
  
"...Whatever just happened," He mutters to himself, "was not SUPPOSED to happen, and yet, I feel as if it is now forever how it will always happen." His hands clench and release and clench and release, and then he deduces, "We have Time Travelers mucking about in the Garden."  
  
That just would not do. That would not do at all.

* * *

 

Hours later, the teal blooded technician woke up to a pounding headache, a WRECKED ROOM, and the smell of MELTED ROCK AND METAL.  
  
She climbs to her feet, and looks out the window and doesn't like what she sees at all:  
  
A Stargate buried beneath the crushed remains of a LARGE, FAMILIAR, METAL BRIDGE. She can't see much of the Gate itself, but what she can see does NOT look like it's in any condition to dial out any time soon.  
  
"...I am so fired," she laments tiredly, reaching for her coffee mug, only to find it missing.  
  
She would search the room, but alas, the coffee mug had simply disappeared.  
  
Oh well, she could always find another one in a break room later.

* * *

 

About thirty minutes after that, back in a tent hanging in a tree in Haven's forests, Tyzias Entykk looks at the coffee mug she swiped from the mission with a COMPLICATED, undecipherable feeling swirling around inside her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was entirely too much fun :D 
> 
> And also possibly quite a large ripple in the time line. Or maybe not. Who knows. Maybe SCRATCH is just mis-informed.


	28. ALT:03X14: Circumfrence of a Flavor Disk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the moon hits your eyes like a big Pizza PI...

Your name is DAMMEK, and the moment you and your Moirail get a private moment together in your tree-mounted tent-  
  
*SLAP!*  
  
-You're 100% certain that you really deserved that.  
  
"Don't you DARE!" Callie demands, eyes brimming with translucent lime tears, "DO THAT. EVER. AGAIN. Do you hear me, Dammek!?"  
  
"I hear you," you say, hanging your head in shame. "I'm sorry, it was the only option I saw to get everyone else out of there..." You glance up and see her opening her mouth to say something more, and you hurriedly spit out the part some part of you really doesn't want to spit out: "And I was stupid for not asking anyone else if they had other ideas first. I was stupid for sacrificing myself again and I'm sorry I put you guys through that again. I shouldn't have done it."  
  
"...Damn right you shouldn't have," and then Callie throws herself at you to wrap her arms tightly around you. "I was so mad when Joey told us what you did. I just-" She squeezes tight. "But more than that I was so worried about you. What they might have been doing to you. What they could have done..."  
  
"I'm fine," you say, "they barely did anything to me. It feels like everyone in this era think kids are fragile things that aren't worth paying attention to. It's annoying. Even when they captured me they were condescending, but not because of my blood color for once. Just... because I was a kid!? It... It felt like they weren't taking me seriously like they should have been."  
  
"I'm glad they have been," Callie says as she pulls away from the hug so she can lock her eyes with your own. "I don't want to think about what might have happened if we lost you to that place for good."  
  
Honestly, you don't want to think about it either.

* * *

 

"So," your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and you're IMPRESSED by Mallek's haul. "This is the A.I. that was torturing people, huh?"  
  
"Yup," Mallek nods as he plops the orange colored case onto the dirt floor. The single glowing eye in it glances around in a panic, terrified of what Mallek might do to it. "She's not so tough when she's not in control of a computer mainframe."  
  
"...So," You ask, "What do we do with it/her?"  
  
"Part of me wants to throw her at the Replicators and see how they fair," Mallek says, "but at the same time I'm hesitant, because what if she takes them over and becomes their high overlord?"  
  
"...That's a disturbing thought," you frown. "I say we take her to the future, at least, but we keep her isolated from any other systems." A thought occurs to you, "Other possibility, we could maybe copy the sentience part, remove the memories and the malevolence and torture stuff, and put that into something like the Megaship to help with the control stuff?"  
  
"Now THERE'S an idea," Mallek grins.

* * *

 

"That brings me to my next question." Your name is ARANEA SERKET, and you smile warmly at the Sea Dweller Commander as he places down a large plate covered in a SUCCULENT LOOKING FLAVOR DISK. "Would you like the honors of first slice?"  
  
"Of course, Commander Naihte," you say to him, leaning forwards to pluck up the most DECADENTLY DETAILED, and SUFFICIENTLY LARGE ENOUGH slice. However, you chose not to be greedy. You let the LARGEST SLICE LIE. "Nothing quite like a Flavor Disk to seal a deal, hm?" You load the slice onto your plate, and lean back in your chair.  
  
"Naturally," he smiles, and you smile right back as he takes a slice of his own and puts it on HIS plate. He, too, avoids the largest slice.  
  
You're both going to try to back stab each other within the next five minutes. It'll be a race to see who pulls it off first.  
  
"So," Commander Naihte begins, after taking a bite of his slice of the disk. "That's everything you know about these Time Travelers?"  
  
"I'd be a fool to keep anything back," you say, honestly, before eagerly taking a bite of your own slice. No off tastes, good, you chose the right slice, you think. "Truthfully, I just don't see how it's possible to abuse the Stargates in such a way, but if what they say is true... I want them gone. They're ruining everything."  
  
"Agreed," Commander Naihte says, nodding. He lifts his right hand- the one that he replaced with that of his previous commander's. "This was not on my plate for many more Sweeps to come, and yet... alas, I had to move my own time table up a bit."  
  
Your own REPLACEMENT LIMB was done in such a way that unless someone knew you'd lost your limb to a battle, they wouldn't notice. You prime a CERTAIN FEATURE in preparation.  
  
"Speaking of Time..." You glance up at the window- towards the GREEN MOON peeking over the distant horizon. "Scratch knows nothing yet, correct?" You take another bite of your flavor disk slice.  
  
"If he knows anything, it's by deduction," Commander Naihte says. "I certainly haven't told him anything." He shakes his head, and chews at another bite of his own slice. He swallows, and then remains silent for a few moments, then says, "Regardless, I get the feeling no matter what I tell him, he's going to cull me on the spot just for bringing you here, out of the Garrison."  
  
"I appreciate the relocation back to Alternia," you say. "Mazes were never really my favorite puzzle in existence. However, they're going to be suspicious if I'm not there when they inevitably stage a rescue for me. Oh Rufioh will be ever so cross, thinking I've betrayed him."  
  
"Oh yes, definitely," Commander Naihte agrees with a nod. "We will have to keep this quick before-"  
  
KNOCK KNOCK.  
  
There's a knock at the door.  
  
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.  
  
And again.  
  
Commander Naihte sighs. "Excuse me for a moment." He gets up from his chair and heads over to the door. "Yes? What is it, Junior Helmsman Maxlol?" He asks of the rather young looking HELMSMAN on the other side of the door.  
  
"Bad news from the Garrison, Sir," The Gold blooded troll BEGINS HIS REPORT. Interestingly, his eyes seem to flicker beneath his headset's GOGGLES with YELLOW and PURPLE LIGHT. He's one of THOSE psychics, hm? One of the ones whose powers edge CLOSE to the TRUE MIGHT of the yellow/gold crystal on the Twilight Bracelet. He's not old enough yet to be positioned as a TRUE HELMSMAN just yet, but he is old enough to serve in the Empire's army. How curious.  
  
"Bad HOW?" Commander Naihte asks.  
  
"We received a broadcast transmission from the GLaDOS A.I. in the maze moments ago through subspace," the troll- Was MAXLOL really his name?- explains. "The Summoner's Army had attacked the Garrison and were in the process of liberating the prisoners when we suddenly lost contact with the A.I.; we suspect it was disconnected from the grid at the source."  
  
"How frustrating," Commander Naihte growls- you see his WOODEN HAND flexing and hear it creaking as he does such. "Have we been able to re-establish contact with the Garrison?"  
  
"No, sir," Maxlol answers. "We've attempted to dial with the Stargate, and received no connection. Either they're actively using the Gate right now, or it's been damaged."  
  
"I see." Commander Naihte considers his options for a moment, and you can see the gears turning within his head. (Your mind amusingly frames them as model miniatures of the Garrison's two buildings.) "Very well then, keep me appraised of future developments, Helmsman."  
  
"I will," Maxlol bows, and then turns to leave. The door closes behind him and you honestly are sad to see him gone for some reason.  
Commander Naihte stands there for a few moments, staring at the door, and then he turns around, a frown on his face, "It seems we missed our window of opportunity to return you to your cell."  
  
"I heard," you say, tensing up on the inside, but keeping your outsides relaxed and semeingly unaware. "Now what?"  
  
"Now...." The Commander flexes his fake hand. "Now, I'm afraid it's time for you to-"  
  
"DIE!" You finish the sentence while throwing your fake arm forwards- palm pointed at the man.  
  
The HIDDEN SHOCK EMITTER within the palm activates twice and- _**PCHZYUU!**_ -The Commander is roaring in stunned pain before- _**PCHZYUU!** _ -the second blast hits him and stops his heart.  
  
The Late Commander Naihte falls to the ground, dead.  
  
You smirk to yourself, a job well done, as you leave the man in his own room. Now, to just convince any guards you come across that you're being allowed to escape this....  
  
This...  
  
Suddenly, as you try to draw upon your POWERS OF PERSUASION, you feel VERY WEAK as if your PSYCHIC ENERGIES have been drained to depletion despite the fact you haven't used anything at all.  
  
That's when you see that damned JUNIOR HELMSMAN standing down the hallway, seeming a lot more distant than he should be. There's... there's another GOLD BLOOD at his side, reaching their hand out and-- and---  
  
THEIR EYES ARE VOIDS, gaping black holes that pull your SHEER PSYCHIC POTENTIAL into them and trap them within forever.  
  
How long has this troll been draining you? Probably since you got on board this damned ship. Maybe LONGER????????  
  
They grin, and so does the JUNIOR HELMSMAN.  
  
You turn tale and RUN, setting your arm to RECHARGE for more stunning shots as you go. You're not going to get a chance to doubel tap, likely. Best to conserve the energy you've got left.  
  
Crew and Guards don't even bother getting in your way. They just give you this same look that's so fucking full of pity that it makes you wanna wretch.  
  
By the time you find the RING PLATFORM, you realize you've been HAD.  
  
Commander Naihte stands there, smirking at you.  
  
"We turned down the voltage on that stunner in your arm while you were unconscious, and in our custody at the Garrison, and raised the recharge time," he explains. "Two shots? That barely tickled, and you're not ready for any more rounds just yet, are you?"  
  
"You..." You growl at him.  
  
"Darane, Maxlol," The man snaps his fingers. "Detain her."  
  
And then a psychic aura suddenly flares up around you, yellow and purple, even as you feel what TINY reserves of psychic energy were left utterly stripped away from you.  
  
And then you're slammed face first into the floor hard enough to make your ears ring.

"Yergonna pway fur dis, Night" you growl out at Commander Naihte.

"I'd like to see you try," The Commander smirks at you, and then snaps his fingers and a- _**PCH-ZYU!!**_

* * *

 

You are now HER IMPERIAL CONDESCENSION. In the midst of HUNTING DOWN ALIEN INVADERS and chasing them across the Galaxy, you recieve a call from THE MAN.  
  
"What is it, Scratch?" You growl, "It'd beta be important 'cause I'm fairly busy fishin' up some schools of carp."  
  
_"Good news and Bad news from the Garrison,"_ Scratch says. _"Bad news first, as per tradition."_  
  
"Grrh. Fine," You say. "Report."  
  
_"The Garrison has been ransacked by the Summoner's Army. We're dispatching a ship there to investigate personally, but I was fairly certain that Time Travelers were involved even before I received the Good news."_ Scratch doesn't even wait for you to give him the go ahead, he just continues talking, _"Commander Naihte has captured the Marquise and pried information out of her confirming the presence of Time Travelers AND the locations of every base the Summoner's army has. She also has provided information confirming their plans to use the Heiress's Challenge Address as an assassination attempt on your life."_  
  
"Send an assassin," you say, "I don't care if some hasbeen heiress tries to challenge me, unless-"  
  
_"The Bracelet of the Twilight Dawn is in her possession,"_ Scratch finishes. _"We have reliable confirmation that the energy beams from the Bracelet were used on a recent attack on a Dark Carnival as well. She has legitimate cause to challenge you to the throne, and very well might win."_  
  
You stop upon hearing those words, and then roar into the nearest microphone: **"She. _HAS. WHAT!?!"_**  
  
_"I said, she has_ **Legitimate Cause to challenge you to the throne** _, and very well might win,"_ Scratch repeats.  
  
You spin around, and roar to your HELMSMAN PSIIONIC. "TURN US THE FUCK AROUND! TELL THE REST OF THE FLEET TO CONTINUE ENGAGING. I'M HEADING BACK TO ALTERNIA IMMEDIATELY!"  
  
The strung up man gurgles out a thing, and then your ship CHANGES COURSE and LEAPS TO LIGHTSPEED.  
  
You're gonna FILLET THAT GIRL.  
  
You thought you'd rigged up that temple well and GOOD on a distant, unknown planet to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on the bracelet. Well, you guess now you're just gonna have ta BREAK IT... and take away their STARGATE PRIVILEGES TOO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the more things change, the more they stay the same.


	29. SG1:03x18: A Conflict of Interests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...He's really mad, isn't he?"

**MAY 6TH, 1997.**  
  
"INCOMING TRAVELER! INCOMING TRAVELER!"  
  
The Stargate spun into action, chevrons locking in rapid fire sequence, before the **WAA WAA KAWOOSH!**  
  
Your name is DAVIS STRIDER and you can't help but wonder what it will be this time. A SG Team returning? Tok'ra calling for whatever reason?  
  
As it turns out... "Special IDC code Two," a technician calls out. "Opening iris!" ...And then Master Bra'tac and a wounded Jaffa come stumbling out of the gate.  
  
"Help!" Bra'tac yells out. "We need help!"  
  
A medical team is called in, and the poor wounded Jaffa is taken to see Dr. Fraiser and that Goa'uld nurse Ka'turnal. While they work to stabilize him, you and the rest of SG-2, SG-1 sans Colonel O'neill, and General Hammond get the full story from Bra'tac.  
  
Apophis is alive, in control of Sokar's army, and tearing through all the planets that were in his territory, looking for something... or some one.   
  
"The Harcesis," Skaara deduces easily enough.  
  
It's all stuff that could make for an interesting disaster should he find out that Anubis has the boy on Kheb- or so the current theory goes.  
  
The question is... what happens if those two power houses collide? What happens if the SGC can get the child away from both of them?  
  
In a last hope effort to try and figure out where Kheb is and answer that question once and for all, Teal'c asks Bra'tac to look over the Gate Address Database and point out the ones he recognizes.  
  
Stupidly enough, it's easy enough to figure out which one is the right planet. It's the only one that Colonel O'neill added from the Ancient Database and wasn't from Abydos. Bra'tac points it out almost immediately and really, you think, all of this trouble could have been saved if you'd just gone and asked the old man months ago to lend his expertise.  
  
And so a mission to P9Q-292, also known as KHEB, is a go.

* * *

 

Ferretti says he and the rest of SG-2 can hold down the fort and pretty much orders you to go along with Carter, Teal'c, Skaara, and Bra'tac exploring, and mentions something about your smart mouth doing nobody any good during the last mission.  
  
Ferretti says it jokingly, but you can tell that MAJOR COBURN is still just a SMIDGE annoyed with your opening your big mouth during your recent CAPTURED STATUS during that last mission to P2X-416 by the way he visibly relaxes as you walk away with SG-1.  
  
Yeeah. Maybe you should look for a reassignment to another team... or maybe just some on-base duty for a few weeks.   
  
You head through the forest, with Bra'tac leading the way as he tracks some RECENT FOOTPRINTS- Jaffa who came through recently. Soon, you all come across the grisly scene of BRUTAL MURDER: Several squadrons of DEAD JAFFA- some very old, some more RECENTLY DEAD as recently as a few days ago- framed into the shape of a GOA'ULD HIEROGLYPH.  
  
"...Well, that's not ominous in the least," Skaara remarks.   
  
"The Mark of the Fool," Bra'tac explains. "Ra insituted it as a brand of punishment many centuries ago. It is used rarely, sparingly. The humiliation of being prominently marked in such a way was touted as a fate worse than death." His tone of voice turns grim, "This is a message for the one who sent these Jaffa. That to continue to come here is folly."  
  
"Apophis must be desperate to continue sending Jaffa here," Teal'c says. "Even while raiding his own territory, to put such a commitment of forces..."  
  
"The enemy behind this is not one of the System Lords," Bra'tac says. "A Taunt such as this would never be done. It would be in person if it were a fellow System Lord. Doing it like this... It would enrage anyone, Goa'uld or not. If Apophis has seen this symbol, he will be retaliating shortly against its crafter."  
  
"Three guesses who," you mutter. "First two don't count."  
  
The name on everyone's mind is ANUBIS.

* * *

 

Soon, your merry hike through the woods brings you to an OLD AND ANCIENT TEMPLE. A temple that's CLEARLY SEEN BETTER DAYS.  
  
Burn marks scorch the landscape- trees are stripped of their bark from impacts of what you can only guess was lightning. There are a few BLOOD STAINS on the ground, marking the place where Jaffa have died.   
  
This place was a battleground, and very recently, going by the smell.  
  
"Such a waste of Holy Ground," Bra'tac grimaces as he readies his staff weapon.  
  
"Ferretti," Carter radios back to base, "let us know if the Gate activates. Take cover if it's not the SGC checking back in. We might have company here."  
  
An acknowledgement received, Carter orders everyone to spread out and search the temple.  
  
You and Skaara enter what should have been a MEDITATION CHAMBER. Here, you find a bunch of MONKS ROBES lying everywhere, marred as if HIT BY STAFF WEAPON in critical places, and yet... no bodies.  
  
"What the hell?" you stare. "Why leave the clothes but take the bodies?"  
  
"No idea," Skaara frowns.  
  
And so you continue searching. After a short while, you come across a WALL that had been BURST DOWN. Inside that wall, you find what was almost certainly a BABY'S ROOM. No baby inside there now, neither living or dead, fortunately.  
  
"Guys," You radio the team, "looks like we missed the party. Found a baby's room with no baby."  
  
 _"Copy that,"_ Carter says, _"we've spotted something that looks like more wreckage in the distance and we're going to investigate."_  
  
"Copy that," You say, then sigh. "Damn it."  
  
"We're too late," Skaara sighs. "We couldn't find the kid in time."  
  
"No, and unfortunately neither could I," says a woman's voice from behind you suddenly.  
  
You and Skaara whirl around, weapons ready, only to lower them upon seeing that it's just a MONK, or maybe just someone wearing the robes of a Monk. Either way, she's not wielding any weapons, and has her hands held up in a pacifying manner regardless.  
  
"...Who are you?" You ask.   
  
"I could ask the same about you," the woman says, giving you a wry sort of smile. You think her accent is... vaguely British? It's hard to tell honestly, it sounds vaguely like she's from that area of the world- which, now that you think about it should be impossible considering you're on A FREAKING ALIEN PLANET. "But I suppose we have to start somewhere. My name Ganos Lal."  
  
"Dave Strider," You say.   
  
"Skaara," Skaara says.  
  
"You're seeking the Harcesis child, aren't you?" this woman, Ganos, inquires, shifting one of the shoulders of her robe as it seems to slip slightly. Not her clothes, you realize. Close enough of a fit but not tailored specifically to her. "So am I, and the woman who took her."  
  
"A woman?" You ask. "There's a woman now?"   
  
"There's always something new," Skaara remarks.  
  
"Yes, she calls herself Oma Desala," Ganos says. "She tasked herself as a caretaker of this monastery, much to the displeasure of the Others."  
  
"Others, you say?" You raise an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes," Ganos says. "Very pushy people who insist on a non intervention policy with the rest of the Galaxy's affairs."  
  
"Let me guess," you begin, "you're like the insurance inspector sent to make sure I'm not trying to fraud for money by getting a new roof when I don't need one?"  
  
"I..." Ganos frowns, taking a moment to process that statement, then she says, "I don't know exactly what you're talking about but yes, I was sent as an inspector to take stock of events here."  
  
"So," Skaara interjects, "Desala, Harcesis. What happened here?"  
  
"Right, I suppose we do share a common goal in that respect," Ganos takes a moment, then says. "You know of Anubis?"  
  
"Goa'uld who got kicked out of the System Lords Club, faked his death for a few thousand years, kidnapped a Goa'uld who was illegally the mother of a Harcesis, and kept the kid here while the Momma escaped to another planet," you recite.  
  
"Yes," Ganos nods. "Anubis has been a... recurring problem with this Monestary. Shortly after his falsefied death he came here, seeking 'refuge.'" She scowls. "He gained an audience with my people, and we discovered almost immediately that he'd tricked us into letting him have access to our accumulated knowledge. We kicked him out of the Galaxy as soon as we could, but... He retained information he shouldn't have."  
  
"That doesn't sound good," Skaara says.  
  
"No, it's not," Ganos shakes her head. "He's laid low for the most part since then, only recently returning and causing trouble. He came here again with the Child, laying low once more and not causing trouble- for the most part. My people were debating whether or not to break the non intervention rule and exile him again when this disaster happened here on Kheb."  
  
"More like a Massacre, I'd say," you motion at the broken wall, then some of the scattered monks robes all over the place.  
  
"Exactly," Ganos nods. "As far as I've been able to ascertain, Apophis sent his forces here, testing Anubis' might and resolve. It ended with the death of the Monks here. We..." She frowns, as if debating her words. "They were debating whether to intervene when Apophis sent a ship here. Anubis went to destroy it, and in his zeal of proving his own might, Desala swooped in and took the Harcesis for her own and escaped through the Stargate before Anubis or us could react."  
  
"What happened then?" You ask.  
  
"Anubis left after her, seeking the child," Ganos says, "then, deeming that Desala had gone rogue, and that Anubis likely had nefarious plans for the galaxt, I was dispatched to see what I could find in the remains of this place, and then to hunt after them, and hopefully reclaim the child and put an end to whatever plans were set in motion here."  
  
"Sounds like a lot of work," you say. "Why you, exactly?"  
  
"I've a history with dealing with troublemakers who bend and break the rules," Ganos explains simply.   
  
"Ah," you say, "gotcha." A bit of silence falls between the three of you for a moment, then you say, "And you're not breaking anything by telling us this?"  
  
"Funnily enough, no," Ganos gives a faint smile. "By dispatching me as the Others did, the Non Intervention Rules now apply to me from their perspective."   
  
"Gotta love that kind of irony," you say.  
  
"There is a sort of karmic balance to it, all things considered," Ganos agrees. "...I suppose I should ask, however, why you and yours are seeking this child as well?"  
  
"Primarily?" You answer, "The kid's biologically the son of one of our people, who got snake'd to become the mother in the first place. We got her back, might as well get the kid back."  
  
"A noble cause," Ganos muses.  
  
"Other than that," you shrug, "keeping the kid out of the hands of the bad guys who want to use him as a host. And I guess eventually we'd need to check if the kid's actually got all the smarts of the Goa'uld stuck in his head, but that's honestly just a road we'd cross once we found out."  
  
"And if he does have the knowledge?" Ganos asks, souding somewhat warry.  
  
"Not my call," you say, "but if it was, I'd say teach him to use it constructively."  
  
"Or not at all," Skaara adds. "It could overload the kid's brain to use try accessing any of it. Remember what happened with O'neill when he got his head grabbed by that database device?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," you say, pretending not to notice the way Ganos tenses up at the mention of a 'head grabbing database device.' "That's a good point. Maybe the Asgard could do some fancy data delete thing and help clear the kid's head."  
  
"You know the Asgard?" Ganos asks, sounding surprised. "They're still around?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," you say, "good buddies of ours. Thor was there when we found out Anubis was back in the Galaxy too, couple months ago."  
  
"...I see," Ganos says, sounding... a bit relieved, and a bit confused. "That's good to hear. I think I need to do some more investigating of the Galaxy as a while. I seem to be quite out of the loop on current events as they stand. Nobody gave me a proper briefing before sending me down here."  
  
"Don't you just hate red tape?" You ask, but before any response could be given by this strange woman, you hear your radio crackle.  
  
 _"Strider, Skaara, this is Carter,"_ Carter says. _"...We found a downed Goa'uld Mothership."_  
  
"Let me guess," you say, "totally trashed, but the remains are marked with Sokar's symbols?"  
  
 _"...Something like that, yeah,"_ Carter says. _"How'd you know?"_  
  
"Yeah, we found a... not quite local, I guess you could say," you say, "but she's been here for at least... a day?" You ask, and Ganos nods. "And has a bit of a head start on investigating this thing."  
  
 _"Investigating?"_ Carter asks, confused.   
  
"Apparently one of her people went rogue and stole the Harcesis while Anubis was busy blasting Apophis' ship into pieces," you report back. "Her people aren't happy about that any more than we are."  
  
There's a pause, likely Carter cursing at this turn of events or talking it over in her head with Jolinar, then she speaks, sounding rather annoyed, _"So we're back at square one?"_  
  
"More like square four," Skaara remarks.  
  
Now, the question remains, just where the hell did they all GO? 

* * *

 

Your name was once JAYNI, and occasionally now ANNA by one certain individual, but to most in the Galaxy, you are NIRRTI, and you are SMILING INSIDE AND OUT as another "Bet" pays off.  
  
Though she does not know it yet, the ASCENDED BEING known as OMA DESALA has waltzed right into the PALM OF YOUR HAND- metaphorically speaking, of course.  
  
Ah, Future Knowledge is such a wondrous thing to exploit, is it not?  
  
Remotely, through your HIDDEN CAMERA-BUGS-- Actual BUGS with CAMERAS for eyes-- you observe as the Ascended being emerges from a Stargate, tiny infant in tow.  
  
You knew she'd settle on this world after evading ANUBIS for several days straight. Fatigue of the mental kind affects all beings, energy or corporeal, after all.  
  
You've bought her this RESPITE by tricking Anubis into thinking she stayed on one world when she didn't by way of planting a CUSTOM CREATION in plain sight. Just a simple little AIR-BORN JELLYFISH with some minor scraps of D.N.A. from some incredibly brilliantly long tailed birds. Add some bio-luminescence, and you've got yourself a DECENT KNOCKOFF ASCENDED BEING on ready display.  
  
It won't fool Anubis once he gets his hands on it, naturally, but given how fast you designed the thing to move, that won't be for a while. And by the time that happens... well.  
  
"Jake," you whisper/order to your cloned First Prime. "Go to the planet and retrieve the child. Leave no ties to us."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he says, sounding enthusiastic as he leaves your room to go change into something more... DISCRETE.  
  
And so you sit, and wait, and watch.   
  
Oh that Ascended Oma Desala thinks she's gotten ahead of the game, hm? Oh, if only she knew what you knew.  
  
Soon, the STARGATE ACTIVATES, and your Jake stumbles through, disguised as a poor, wounded JAFFA belonging to RA/KHEPRI.  
  
The Ascended Beings in this Galaxy have had their... SPATS over the various experiments your Teacher had performed at Khepri's order. For weeks and months, the records show that Nirrti got CLOSE to turning humans into Alternian Trolls, only to somehow trip some kind of invisible line and have atleast ONE Ancient swoop down and Ascend the lot. Those Experiments would begin anew, and sometimes the Ancients would come down hard within a day. Sometimes, it would take weeks or months again before any action was taken. And yet, when it came to Nirrti's work on its own- unrelated to ANYTHING Alternian in nature- they never interfered once.  
  
The fact of the matter is, they're bloody inconsistent, and you're going to use that against them.  
  
Your JAKE stumbles over to the place Desala now hides at, seemingly in a pain filled stupor. She has no idea what's coming next.  
  
So powerful he is. He thinks what he's about to do is due to your REVIVAL. Oh, but the truth is so, SO much sweeter than that. He's had this potential all along. Even before you recloned him and mapped his brain scan onto a younger body.  
  
Yes, Recloned. You don't mean Cloned as in the once. RE. CLONED.  
  
Your first tip off had been seeing some STRANGE SEQUENCES in your D.N.A. that seemed INCOMPLETE. When you'd gotten hold of JAKE'S D.N.A. back in KHEPRI'S PYRAMID on ABYDOS... oh, you'd done some digging, and found so much MORE, hidden away.  
  
Khepri had cloned Jake and Jane from some singular source- split that code up and merged it with some random ass humans- and thus... the two siblings had been born. Then, she'd done her own MEDDLING and TWEAKING, making them into the people they became. You don't know who that source is- possibly, one that comes from her own Galaxy- but it's POWERFUL. Oh so powerful. So powerful that Khepri would restrain their abilities in an attempt to TAME THEM.  
  
When you rebirthed Jake, you spliced in the things missing, and made it easier for him to access the abilities he already had lying dormant.  
  
Idly, you muse as you watch Jake fake slowing his breathing down to a shuddering halt, you can't help but wonder if this wasn't part of Khepri's plan all along.  
  
Surely not, though. You doubt she ever had any idea that Jake could do THIS.  
  
And then as the Ascended being, Oma Desala, moves down to check on Jake, he SNAPS TO ATTENTION and his eyes flash with RAINBOW LIGHT before settling on a pure, blinding BRIGHT WHITE ENERGY that matches the same intensity of the Ascended Being's own body.  
  
For a moment, your CAMERA-BUGS see nothing but a BLINDING SPHERICAL ORB of pure WHITE ENERGY.  
  
Some distant part of your own mind thinks that perhaps, just maybe, this is the power of HOPE.  
  
And then you hear the screams of the Ascended woman as the white orb suddenly turns CRIMSON ORANGE and takes on the apperance of FIRE- no, a BURNING SUN consuming everything that it touches!!  
  
Yes, you muse, this is indeed the power of HOPE... Hope CRUSHED into oblivion.   
  
By the time the lightshow fades, you see a naked woman lying on the ground, skin burnt in so many places, panting with pained breaths, and JAKE, standing above her, the HARCESIS CHILD in arm.  
  
He turns and leaves the former Ascended being to die where she lies, dialing out with the STARGATE and returning to your base.  
  
You continue to observe, even as Jake returns to your side, the Child in arm. And then you watch as ANUBIS comes through that Stargate next, and he finds the woman lying there.  
  
Oma Desala, ascended no more, and at Anubis' mercy.  
  
You can hear the half-ascended Goa'uld's laughter for a moment echo through your camera bug's transmission, and then, suddenly, he realizes that the CHILD IS NOT THERE. And then Anubis' laughter turns into PURE RAGE.   
  
Once he finishes screaming, you sever the connection, having no need of it any further.  
  
Good. He's primed for such devastating acts now. You definitely like him when he's ANGRY. So easy to manipulate, when he's angry.  
  
"Lovely show, My Jake," you tell him as you put your arms around his shoulders, and peer down at the child in his arms. "We have the next piece to the puzzle."  
  
The Harcesis stares up at you, grey eyes piercing out towards yours in that innocent, yet concerned way only an infant can have.   
  
You make them FLASH, and accent your voice. **"Welcome, child... now what should we name you?"**  
  
That's a ruse, of course. You already know what you're going to name him because you already named him in the files from the future.  
  
 **"I know,"** You say, **" _Shifu._ Your name will be Shifu."**  
  
And now, while the rest of the Galaxy waits for the next roll of the dice, you will make use of this utter REPOSITORY OF KNOWLEDGE staring up at you.   
  
All the knowledge of two Goa'uld mated, added to your own FORESIGHT? It will fill in SO. MANY. GAPS. In what you don't know but your Teacher did.  
  
Soon, your RUSE will be all the more compelling, and there's nothing anybody can do about it.  
  
It's the perfect crime. Nobody will be the wiser. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Except for maybe the people with eyes. 
> 
> ...Things have really gone off the rails now, haven't they? :33


	30. ALT:03x15: Heir Transparent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a Time Loop begins to knit its noose around the Empress's neck.

Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK and you awake to the sound of SCREAMS.  
  
You're darting down from your tent and rushing across the camp and climbing up into another tent and soon you're trying to sooth the upset BARZUM SOLEIL from whatever nightmare she woke up from.  
  
"Sssh, shhh," you're doing your best as impromptu Moirail, but it just isn't working.  
  
Soon, Joey is climbing up and begins using her bracelet to put the girl into a calming state.  
  
"Damn it," Joey mutters. "Her mental profile is all screwed up. She was stable earlier tonight. What happened?"  
  
"Nightmare?" You suggest.  
  
"No, it's..." She frowns. "Hold on..." Her eyes pulse green for a moment, and so does Barzum's eyes... and then, the glow fades, and Joey gasps. "Holy shit!"  
  
"What is it?" you ask.  
  
"We need a team meeting," Joey decides. "NOW."

"Why?" You ask. Joey's answer tells you all you need to know without telling you ANYTHING.

"We have to change the plan for the confrontation with the Empress."

* * *

 

The Imperial Flagship HER IMPERIAL CRUISER dropped out of light speed and descended towards Alternia's GREEN MOON.  
  
Once in orbit, a RING TRANSMAT BEAM shoots down from the ship to the moon, and there, in a RESPLENDENTLY EMERALD OFFICE, the woman known to the Galaxy as HER IMPERIAL CONDESCENSION appears before the man know as the SCRATCH DOCTOR.  
  
"Any sign of 'em?" She asks.  
  
"As expected," Scratch begins without preamble, "the heroes have come to the aid of a multitude of camps as we raid them. The Heiress is reported as showing up at multiple simultaneously, an impossibility, if not for time travel."  
  
"Don't care 'bout some future whelps," the Empress of Alternia says. "I want dat gurl who dares corrupt my name from the HERE AND NOW!"  
  
Though his face is not visible, Scratch raises an eyebrow. 'Ah, yes, the whole "Meenah and Reenah" thing,' he realizes. "Yes, well, with the return of the _Destiny_ -"  
  
"HER. IMPERIAL CRUISER," The Empress corrects.  
  
"Yes. That," Scratch dismisses her correction. "With the return of the Destiny to Alternian Orbit, we can expect Reenah Kraken to officially put forth a declaration of challenge any minute now." He turns to face her. "We can also expect the Time Travelers to try to ensure her success. They will likely challenge you on board the _Destiny_. I'd suggest bringing it down into low atmospheric orbit and then fighting the girl on the exterior decks."  
  
"Like hell I'm gonna let anybody get on board my SHIP," The Empress growls. "I'm going to challenge her ON THE SURFACE! At the Ceremonial Battle Ground! If she wants to do this by the book, then I'll show her what happens when the BOOK HITS BACK!!"  
  
Unnoticed to the Empress, however, as she speaks those exact words, a Matter stream from a RING TRANSPORT zips past the nearest window, up towards the VESSEL above.  
  
Scratch makes no effort to imply that he saw it, and instead says, "Very well then, Empress Meenah. It was just a simple suggestion. I will take over watch of the _Destiny_ -"  
  
"HER. IMPERIAL. CRUISER. GET IT RIGHT, SCRATCH!" The Empress yells at him.  
  
"I will take watch over Your Imperial Cruiser, then," Scratch says, "and ensure that no interlopers have miraculously bypassed security and gotten on board, seeking to assassinate you while you deal with-"  
  
And then there's a beep from a communications terminal.  
  
"Ah, right on time," Scratch says, turning around to activate it. "Reenah Kraken has officially issued a challenge declaration. And it seems she's predicted your own plan of battling by the book. She's at the-"  
  
Before he can even finish that sentence, the RING PLATFORM engages, and the EMPRESS IS GONE.  
  
"...I do wish she would let me finish," Scratch shakes his head- obvious only by the way the light shifts and glints off of his helmet- and heads to punch in the symbols to ring up to the _DESTINY_. "It would be so much simpler to maintain timeline stability otherwise."  
  
He finishes that sentence as he stands on the platform, and transports up in silence. He arrives on the DESTINY in the Empress' REVAMPED PRIVATE QUARTERS- what had once originally been a GRAND DINING HALL. He pulses a small fraction of his powers, searching the room in an instant....  
  
"How curious," he muses aloud. "No sign of any intruders."  
  
Hmm. Perhaps he was mistaken about where that transport beam was heading. It could have been going to any of the ships in orbit, after all.  
  
...No, he's sure of that fact all of a sudden. They DID head to the _Destiny_. They must have made a hasty exit through one of the doors or the ventilation shafts.  
  
"I will find you, you little rats," he declares to the ship around him as he heads for the exit of the room, and looks around. "Now if I were a spy..." He turns right down the hallway, towards the ship's DATA CORES.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE and you can't help but EXHALE in relief as your team materializes back into existence inside an UGLY GREEN PAINTED ROOM.  
  
"I can't believe they fell for that," Mallek says.  
  
"Let's not jinx us just yet," you say. "Mallek, go hack into the nearest computer terminal. Daraya, go find the roof and leave our Cherry on top."  
  
"Got it," the two trolls go off to do their tasks, with Daraya carrying a large RED SPHERE on her back.  
  
"Dammek, with me," you say to your fourth team member as you pick up a LARGE CONTAINER of OIL . "Let's get this place ready to burn."  
  
"Right," Dammek nods, and then picks up the OTHER LARGE CONTAINER of OIL off of the floor.

* * *

 

Your name is CALLIE OHPHEE, and you feel so NERVOUS as you watch as the MATTER STREAM descend from the Green Moon. The voice of the mutterings around you don't lend much to your own personal stability here, either.  
  
Standing around the entire outer perimeter of an ANCIENT STONE BATTLEGROUND floating on the Alternian Ocean are hundreds of Trolls- adult and child alike- a vast majority of the adults being REPORTERS. This platform isn't present in your modern day history, meaning something big is about to happen here.  
  
The Ring Platform activates, and as the rings rush upwards, the beam descends into it.  
  
Then, the terrifying visage of EMPRESS MEENAH appears, and as the rings descend back into the floor, she readies her TRIDENT.  
  
Reenah readies her own trident as well, as all go silent, waiting to see what happens next.  
  
You ready your HIDDEN CAMERA.  
  
"EMPRESS MEENAH!" Reenah calls out. "I CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE THRONE!"  
  
"HEIRESS WHATS-HER-FACE," Empress Meenah challenges back, "I'M GONNA FILET YOU LIKE THE GUPPY YOU ARE!!"  
  
And then a large DOMED SHIELD emerges from the ground in front of you, separating the outer ring of the audience from the rest of the battlefield.  
  
The two Fuschia Bloods square off, twirling around their Tridents with small bursts of PSIONIC ENERGY to add to the spin and make them move faster.  
  
The two rev up their tridents to a blistering, whirlwind speed, and then THROW THEIR TRIDENTS at each other.  
  
**CLANG- _CLASH!!!_** Both weapons collide in mid air and rebound back towards their owners, but they dodge to their left sides and then throw out PSIONIC BURSTS of red and blue light that meet and explode in the middle.  
  
The battle has begun.

* * *

 

Your name is DAMMEK, and as you slosh some OIL onto a fancy dining table, Joey remarks that it looks oddly similar to one she saw in "Florida."  
  
"Found it!" Mallek suddenly yells, excitedly. "The old Database from the Alien ship that the Empress's been using as her flagship! I've got Gate addresses, Stargate Blueprints, and design schematics, and all sorts of nifty things that never made it into the public Database repository!"  
  
"Download it!" Joey orders. "Every last scrap!"  
  
"Already on it!" Mallek answers.  
  
"What made you sure that it was going to be here and not on the H.I.C.?" You ask as you slosh some oil onto an old, ostentatious looking GRANDFATHER CLOCK. (Joey had said it reminds her of one her PA shoved into a "STUFFED and MOUNTED BEAR," and as such, it must BURN.)  
  
"Just a hunch," Joey admits. "It made sense that if the person who was supposed to be LIVING on the moon in this era was so important to the grand scheme of things, they'd keep something like an Alien Ship's Database where they could keep an eye on it at all times. That way if, their 'God' forbid, the Empress' ship ever got taken over by an enemy force, then their enemies would be out the resource it provided."  
  
An enemy like the Replicators.  
  
"Strategic," you agree. "But still, why on the Green Moon NOW? Why not on some alien planet?"  
  
"There probably IS a back up somewhere," Joey says, "but this has to be the primary database, right?" She pauses, sloshes some extra oil onto an extravagant looking COUCH, and then adds, "Besides. This Cueball Man on the Moon leaves Alternia alone for some reason. He's not in the future, but we know he's here in the present thanks to Barzum's memory."  
  
"Well, I guess," you nod, then slosh some oil into a broom closet full of BROOMS and leave a small trail connecting it to one of the LEAD LINES.  
  
Honestly, you'd never believe the story of 'Girl sneaks in where she shouldn't be and watches a man in a white helmet give a book to the Grand Executioner,' if Joey hadn't seen it by prying into the girl's head AND had confirmed the book title Skylla had told you about.  
  
How Joey then leaped to the conclusion that this 'Cueball man' had to have the "Ancient Alien Database" on the moon, you're not entirely sure.  
  
"Still," you say, "I guess it makes sense. The only way we could get onto the moon was by ringing down from the Empress' ship. Only the right people with the right access could get up here in the first place."  
  
"Exactly," Joey nods. "And that's why we're torching the place. None of these buildings are HERE in the future-present! We've checked!"  
  
It was honestly a spur of the moment thing after you'd finished blowing up CLOWN SHIPS. Check the moon to see if the Rumors were true. You'd found a lot of OUTLINES of building perimeters, but no actual buildings. It hadn't been important enough to even bring it up to Okurii when you touched down on solid ground again.  
  
You'd just assumed someone had moved them... You guess you're instead just going to MAKE THEM GO AWAY.

* * *

 

"RAAAAHRH!" The Empress cries out in pain as Reenah's TRIDENT suddenly pierces through her right leg- it would have hit higher if she hadn't seen the Heiress using her psychic powers on something and started to DODGE. She rips the thing out of her leg and... much to everyone's surprise, the wound DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY HEAL UP.  
  
As is expected of a battle like this. It's A BATTLE TO THE DEATH.  
  
The Empress waists precious seconds forcing herself to heal up, and in that time, Reenah STRIKES OUT with the red crystal- trying to rip the Empress' very SOUL out of her body. She retaliates by stomping her left foot on the ground and EVERYTHING SHAKES- and Reenah's concentration breaks and the Empress growls out some unrepeatable-in-print words.

In the mean time, Reenah drags her trident back to her telekentically.

Then, The Empress fires off MULTIPLE ABILITIES AT ONCE- and Reenah tries her best to dodge or block them all. Needless to say, the moment her TRIDENT shatters into at least twenty pieces was not a hopeful one.

* * *

 

"...Nothing," Scratch frowns. "How is there nothing?"  
  
There are no INTRUDERS ON THE SHIP.  
  
But there were. He SAW the transmat beam. He'd SEEN the trajectory and done the math.  
  
"...Unless..." beneath his helmet, a mis-matched set of crimson and emerald eyes widen.  
  
Unless they'd Ringed out when he Ringed in.  
  
"MY HOUSE!" he roars, and begins stomping towards the Ring Platform.

* * *

 

"We're done!" Daraya says as she and Mallek step onto the Ring Platform.  
  
"Good. So are we," Joey says as she steps onto the ring platform alongside Dammek. Both of them throw their nearly emptied bottles of oil onto the large pile of INCENDIARY ITEMS. She reaches her hand out, and then-  
  
_**SPARK.**_  
  
Blue and Red light flashes in the pile of items and suddenly IGNITES into a raging inferno that quickly spreads out across the rest of the house, following the oil trails to everything. Elsewhere, similar FLASHPOINTS are sparked to life creating similar raging infernos that quickly spread out to everywhere.  
  
And then just on cue- the RINGS ACTIVATE.  
  
"He's going to be in for a rude surprise," Dammek chuckles as they're beamed UP TO THE IMPERIAL CRUISER above, and the man known as SCRATCH is beamed down into the middle of a RAGING INFERNO.  
  
_**"NO!"**_ he roars. **"NO! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! _NO!!!!!!"_**

* * *

 

"Oh," Joey begins as Dammek punches in the ring code to transport back down to Alternia. "Let's not forget Reenah's going away present."  
  
"Oh no, definitely can't forget that," Daraya laughs as she pulls a small remote out of her skirt pocket. "I do so love a good Cherry Bomb." And so, as Dammek joins them on the platform and the Rings come around them, she presses a big red button.

* * *

 

The Empress has the Heiress on the ground- weaponless and soon to be culled.  
  
"Any last words, GUPPY?" Meenah asks, glaring at the girl beneath her.  
  
"Yeah, I got some," Reenah smirks. "But I gotta wait for just the right moment to use them. Gotta savor the moment, ya know?"  
  
"...What?" Meenah asks, when suddenly there's a distantly echoing BOOM.  
  
That, plus the sudden explosion of LIGHT from the GREEN MOON above makes everyone stop and look up- Callie's VIDEO FEED remains fixed, however, on the Empress as she turns around to look up as well.  
  
You don't need to look to know. A MASSIVE FIREBALL erupts from the surface of the GREEN MOON, spiraling upwards and upwards, and generally looking like a massive MIDDLE FINGER towards propriety in general.  
  
After all, the explosion is colored BRIGHT CHERRY RED, providing a stark contrast to the GREEN MOON, and somehow the only grey smoke visible at this distance carries itself in the shape of the sign of THE SIGNLESS SUFFERER.  
  
"WHAT!!!?" Meenah roars- startled and confused and-  
  
_**SNAP-HISS!!**_  
  
Suddenly without any legs to stand on as Reenah pulls out a LASER CUTTER from nowhere and slashes out- sending the Empress toppling to the ground with a yelp.

"I ABDICATE!" Reenah yells, and then slices off her own right wrist. The BRACELET tumbles to the ground, and the FORCE SHIELD begins dispersing around the arena.  
  
That's when you- MIERFA DURGAS- suddenly explode the DRAGONFLY out of the water and swoop down over the battlefield.  
  
Reenah and Callie jump on at the opportune moments, and you PUNCH THE HYPERDRIVE once they're secure in the back.  
  
You're gone before the Empress even knows what the hell happened.

* * *

 

From the smoldering ruins of his HOUSE, the man known as SCRATCH pushes himself out from beneath a COLLAPSED TIMBER.  
  
His helmet is cracked, and his impeccably white suit MARRED with ash and scorch marks from the explosion, but he is never the less alive.  
  
"Damn it," he mutters. "Damn it all... Time Travelers. Of all the damned stunts they could have pulled."  
  
He goes to check his pocket watch, and finds, of all the oddities, that the hands are moving once again. What's left of them at any rate. The sharded fragments have broken even further, but they move.  
  
Time... Time has been restored, somehow??  
  
"Was all of this just a... A Fixed Point!?" He asks to the air.

His LORD whispers in his ear that it wasn't, and that makes the man MAD.

* * *

 

Your name is RUFIOH NITRAM, and you watch as the two halves of this wayward team reunite at the Stargate- which fortunately is not just yet crawling with the Alternian Empire's agents.  
  
"Did you get what you need?" You ask of the girl from the future.  
  
"Yes, we did," Joey Claire nods. "And we bloodied that Cueball man too, real good."  
  
"And Reenah?" You look at the LANDING VESSEL.  
  
"Here!" You hear a pained voice as a left hand waves from the back side. The (Former) Heiress doesn't seem to want her face to be seen. Sitting next to her is the Lime Blood, who gives you a smile that says "she's fine."  
  
Fine except for the fact that she now needs to go into hiding in the future.  
  
"What about you?" Joey's teammate- the Bronze Blood who dressed up as you and got captured- Dammek, asks. "Are you going to be alright?"  
  
"Beyond the fact that my efforts were doomed to failure not only by time, but by my own Matesprit's betrayal?" You ask in return. "No. I'm not. I'll bring my lance to Aranea's heart for what she's done, and then I'll probably be culled."  
  
"If it's any consolation," Joey says, "I don't like that we have to leave the Empress alive either. But if we changed things by killing her, then the future we came from wouldn't exist, and then we wouldn't come back in the first place to... well..."  
  
"I understand the reasoning," you say. "But you should get going. The Empire will be coming for the Stargate soon."  
  
"Right," Daraya says as she goes over to the DHD and begins dialing. "And we've got a solar flare to catch too."  
  
And soon, the Gate is active, and then the flying Mech-Dragon and the rest of the team are gone through it.  
  
You decide to make things difficult for the Empire, and as soon as the Gate is shut down, you rip open the DHD and use your lance to SHATTER EVERY CRYSTAL in it.  
  
That done...  
  
You steel yourself for the murder you're going to have to commit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meenah would later "revisionist history" the entire duel to say that none of it happened that way, and then proceeded to pretend that it went exactly that way by forcing herself to forget that any of it actually happened this way.
> 
> Scratch, meanwhile, would fume something fierce.


	31. SG1:03x19: No Strings Attached

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life continues to march forwards, back on Earth.

_**JUNE 13TH, 1997.**_  
  
Your name is JOLINAR and it has been FIFTY SIX DAYS since Colonel O'neill had gone missing on Edora.  
  
During that time many things have happened, but primary among them is your host/friend working herself into a perpetually worried frenzy of invention and weapon work. The Particle Emitter Array is not going to be finished for another forty or so days. Carter wants it done sooner.  
  
Alas, as much as you'd love to have that done too, sometimes you have to take charge and there's only so much self-abuse you'll allow by healing over.  
  
Such as now. Because she's been neglecting sleep, Carter has pretty much fallen asleep on her feet and the only thing keeping your shared body standing and not falling to the floor is you marching her feet to the infirmary and telling Dr. Fraiser to make sure that Carter gets a full eight to twelve hours of sleep before finding a bed and lying down.  
  
You hope Carter won't mind too much when she wakes up.

* * *

 

"Oh for cryin' out loud." Your name is DAVIS STRIDER and you mutter some curses under your breath as you see a FAMILIAR FIGURE sitting on your front door step. You pull up into your driveway, hoping it's not who you think it is.  
  
But damn it, he stands up as you park and yeah, it's DIRK.  
  
You glance back into the back seat and confirm that Nepeta's sound asleep, and so you get out of the car.  
  
"Dirk," you say, glancing at your brother out of concern. "What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
"...I'm fucked, Dave," he says, face certainly looking the part. All stressed out and- ew- he doesn't look like he's taken a shower recently... and doesn't smell the part either. "I lost my funding."  
  
"Funding?" You ask. "I thought you were all freelance not some science-fair funded type of person."  
  
"I am- was- but," Dirk groans, running a hand through his hair. It's not even sticking up the way he usually styles it. No gel? "Look, I had this agent, and there was some guy who paid for them and he... He died a while back, and the banks basically canceled the recurring payments and my Agent basically went off to fuck knows where doing the same thing for other people and I couldn't convince him to stay and get me one more big gig so I could keep paying him."  
  
Jake Harley, you presume.  
  
"Ouch," you say, "this agent sounds like a jerk to me."  
  
"Yeah, well, that's the Sassacre family for you," Dirk sighs. "Stupid lawyers."  
  
Sassacre? Oh. YEAH. Definitely related to Jake's death, this sudden turn of events.  
  
"That's not the worst of it," Dirk shakes his head, continuing as he didn't even realize you were thinking those thoughts. "I tried to get some jobs on my own but nobody wanted to hire me anymore. And those who did weren't paying enough to keep paying my bills and I lost my apartment. I had to sell all my stunt gear just to get a bus ticket out here. I'm starting to think my funding partner was bankrolling everything to begin with."  
  
Well, duh, you refrain from saying, what else were you going to get by doing a PUPPET VENTRILOQUIST RAP ACT?  
  
"Sorry to hear that, Dirk," You say, honestly... Okay, like 90% honestly. "So what do you want, Dirk?" you ask.  
  
"A shower? Maybe a couch to crash on?" he asks. "I just... need a place to get my feet under me. Try something new, maybe. All I know is, I can't cut it in Texas anymore."  
  
You mull the option over in your head. "...Fine, Dirk," You say. "You can crash here for a while. 'Til you get your own place. Alright?"  
  
Dirk nods, and then steps aside so you can go unlock the front door. You pass by an old, familiar BEATEN UP LUGGAGE CASE. It used to house custom foam inserts to house quite a few of Dirk's VENTRILOQUIST PUPPETS, but now it's quite clearly holding nothing but CLOTHES.  
  
Good riddance, you say to yourself. Those damned things were creepy as hell. Especially that WEIRD OLD ONE Dirk got from your Dad as a birthday present when he turned eight. That "L'IL CAL" just had some freaky dead eyes and you're glad to not see one of its floppy arms jutting out all impudent like between the lid and the walls of the case like it always seemed to do no matter how perfectly Dirk packed it in a minute before.  
  
"Now go take a shower," you say after unlocking the door. "You smell like a monkey's ass, Dirk."  
  
"I know," your brother laments. "I had to sit next to a cage full of the things on the ride over."  
  
...Okay? You're just going to refrain from commenting on that and instead go get Nepeta out of the car.

* * *

 

An hour later and probably a good fifty dollars added to your water bill, Dirk enters the kitchen looking as styled as he usually does... with one key difference.  
  
"Nice tux," you smirk.  
  
"Shut it," Dirk scowls as he struggles with the tie that goes with his rather nice looking suit. "It's itchy and it's tight and I haven't worn it in years and I'm going to go hit up the local wanted ads in the paper and see if anyone's hiring an ex-rapper."  
  
You watch him flounder with the tie for about thirty more seconds before you get up, say "Let me," and tie the damned thing for him.  
  
"Thanks..." Dirk mumbles as you finish up the tie and make sure it's laying flat.  
  
"No prob," and thus, you go to sit back down at the kitchen table.  
  
"So, uh..." Dirk begins, checking his reflection in the microwave door's surface. "How's life been for you?"  
  
"Oh, you know," you say, "raising a genetically modified kid has its ups and downs. Works' tough, but atleast I get paid a lot of overtime. Got like, two weeks of solid overtime pay straight a few months back."  
  
"Nice," Dirk says.  
  
A moment passes.  
  
"Can I borrow the car?" he asks.  
  
"Hell no," you say. "Take the bus."  
  
"But what if it doesn't go where I need to go?" he asks.  
  
"Then walk," you say.  
  
"C'mon, Dave!" He pleads.  
  
"I only got the one car, Dirk," you tell him. "And I need it to get to work on short notice."  
  
"Why the hell would you need to go into work on short notice!?" Dirk asks.  
  
"Because shit happens," you scowl. "Shit happens and then I'm needed to be there."  
  
"You work in a fucking mountain! What the hell could happen that needs you there when you're already off duty!?" Dirk asks.  
  
"That's classified information."  
  
"Oh bullcrap," Dirk scowls. "Don't give me that."  
  
"Just like Nepeta's glowing neon hair and cat ears are classified," you add. "In fact, it's the exact same classified tier of 'shit people should not know.' And now that I'm thinking about it I should probably get you to sign some NDAs so you don't go blabbing about anything you might accidentally overhear while living with me."  
  
"Wha-?" Dirk blinks- confounded. "You're joking- Right, Dave?!"  
  
"I'm not joking," you say with the utmost seriousness as you bring it right back around to: "You really can't borrow my car."  
  
Dirk just stares at you for a few moments before he growls out a "Fine. I'll take the damned bus." And then heads out the door, slamming it behind him.  
  
You sigh as you hear Nepeta startle awake and start whining.  
  
"Damn it, Dirk."

* * *

 

 _"Jude, do you ever wonder who Khepri had to seduce to have Pa and Aunt Jane?"_ the recording of Joey asks you, Jude Harley, in a fairly concerned tone of voice. _"And I'm pretty sure it wasn't 'Grandpa Sassacre'- whoever he really was."_  
  
To be honest, it's a question you don't really want to think about.  
  
_"'Cause, let's be honest here,"_ Joey says, _"she was an alien- Alternian- who then had two kids- supposedly human- Earthian?- one of whom looked REALLY young for his age and had two kids of his own- us- at a REALLY young age."_  
  
But you've watched this video five times now and it's the ONLY hint you've gotten as to what's made Joey so skittish in her latest videos.  
  
_"I dunno, Jude. Maybe I'm seeing things where I'm really not. Shadows in the Dark, maybe..."_ She frowns. _"But every bit shadow is just a bit of darkenss by some burst of light not passing around something, right? In the Darkness is the Light..."_ She hums that last line, then, tangentially, says, _"Huh. That could make for a good song."_  
  
And then she ends the video.  
  
You replay it again.  
  
_"Jude, do you ever wonder...?"_  
  
The obvious implication to her question is that she knows something about your family geneology that she doesn't want to say in the recording. Something that's made her THINK.  
  
_"'Cause, let's be honest here..."_  
  
You're pretty sure that your 'GRANDMOTHER' KHEPRI is not, biologically speaking, your actual GRANDMOTHER. She likely adopted your Pa and his sister like Davis took in Nepeta, or you've basically taken in Jade, or Roxy and Alec have taken in John.  
  
_"I dunno, Jude. Maybe..."_  
  
But that just then brings up the obvious question.  
  
WHO were Pa and Aunt Jane's REAL BIOLOGICAL PARENTS?  
  
_"In the Darkness is the Light..."_  
  
You stop the video.  
  
Wait.  
  
Nepeta. John. Jade. The common thread between THEM is SUSPECTED GENETIC ENGINEERING- Nepeta obviously, John POSSIBLY, and Jade through DESCENDANT GENETICS.  
  
What if your Pa and Jane were CLONED from something? Someone???  
  
Yes, some ONE singular being in the Alternia Galaxy- someone Joey MUST have seen in the past- reminded Joey of PA or of Aunt Jane.  
  
The only question then, is...  
  
"Who?" You frown.  
  
"JUUUUDE!" And then Roxy comes barging into Pa's- No, really it's pretty much YOUR OFFICE now, with a flash drive in hand. "Joey did another music video!!"  
  
"She what?" You blink- and then close down the video you'd been watching and back away from the computer so that Roxy can plug in the flash drive.  
It must be something they just finished decrypting. "Another song?" Honestly, you didn't think Joey was the SINGING TYPE. She was always more into BALLET and TAP DANCE than singing. Then again, you tended to hog the MUSIC PLAYER most of the time so what do you know?  
  
"Just watch, Jude! Just watch!" Roxy clicks through the drive and then...  
  
_"Hey everyone!_ " Joey appears on screen, seeming happy and cheerful and panting for breath- she has her Moirail, Xefros, held in a one armed hug with her left arm. Standing to her right twirling a pair of drumsticks is the one you recognize as Dammek. _"We just finished recording a new song! You guys all wanted me to do a song in the comments, so here it is! We hope you all really like it! Or don't, as the case may be!"_ She sticks her tongue out at the camera.  
  
Xefros says something that you MOSTLY-SOMEWHAT understand without subtitles thanks to studying the Alternian language on the side- " _The Grubbels are going strong as ever even without our missions keeping us busy! Read the description down below for more info on how we made this song!"_  
  
There is, of course, no summary to go along with it.  
  
Dammek then stops twirling his drumsticks and points it at the camera and says something along the lines of _"Don't forget to Love or Hate, and Comment down below! If you like what we're doing, make sure to Subscribe if you're new!"_  
  
[And then the camera cuts to black](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbQo1-kETK8), before fading into the STARGATE ROOM in some CAVERN which is pitch black save for the light being cast by the Arai Beetles swarming around everyone. The music kicks in: with Xefros on guitar, Dammek on drums, and a girl in a black robe you can't see the face of with a piano. Standing center stage is Joey, armed with a Microphone as she starts singing.  
  
_"Demons come from every side..."_  
  
_"In the Darkness is the Light,"_ Xefros, Dammek, and the unknown girl sing in unison- although in Alternian-accented English rather than straight Alternian.  
  
_"Pulling me on a downwards slide..."_ Joey continues.  
  
_"In the Darkness is the Light,"_ the others echo.  
  
_"Gettin hot the Deeper I go..."_ Joey sings on.  
  
_"In the Darkness is the Light,"_ they other continue.  
  
_"Into the darkness down below!"_ Joey sings, and then all of them, at once, sing:  
  
**_"IN THE DARKNESS IS THE LIGHT!"_**  
  
You sit and listen to the lyrics more than watch the video's editing at that point.  
  
There's a message hidden in this song somewhere, but you can't just quite place it exactly until you hear the line "A future ahead and the past behind."  
  
This whole song is about their JOURNEY SO FAR. The significant missions and everything else, up to and including time travel.

You get the feeling you're going to be listening to this song over and over again until you pick up every piece of hidden meaning.

* * *

 

Your name is THOR.  
  
Things are, as the humans say, GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET.  
  
Your ship is being over-run by Replicators and you've just had to kick your entire crew off of the ship and then disabled the outbound transporters to save their lives.  
  
You can only hope you can figure out a way to finish off the Replicators on your ship before they--  
  
_**VRRROOMP!**_  
  
...Engage the Hyperdrive and begin the journey to their next destination.  
  
Your time has suddenly become all the more precious, and so very LITTLE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More songs from my childhood working their way into this period appropriate story. (Even if the show today's song in question comes from didn't start until 1999/2000 or there about.)


	32. SG1:03x20: Nemesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thor makes a badly timed visit.

_**JUNE 20TH, 1997.**_  
  
Your name is JANET FRAISER...  
  
"Look, I'm just saying, the medical uses for it are going to be big!" Dirk Strider says to his brother Davis as they turn and start walking up the pasta aisle of the grocery store. A young NEPETA sits in the cart basket, seemingly bored out of her mind by the ongoing conversation.  
  
"And I get that, Dirk," his brother says. "But I'm NOT loaning you ten thousand dollars- ten thousand dollars that I don't have to spare, even- to invest in a shop that doesn't have a legal market right now and won't BE making money UNTIL that future date!"  
  
...And you're pretty much used to running into colleagues from the SGC at the local supermarket. Why, just in fact, a few aisles down, you know the EGBERTS are conversing over what to have for dinner.  
  
You're not that surprised.  
  
What you ARE surprised by is your daughter suddenly tensing up and getting a HAUNTED LOOK in her eyes that you've all begun associating with INCOMING BAD FORTUNE.  
  
"Cassie?" You ask as your daughter suddenly takes off at a run and then stops Davis from grabbing a box of LASAGNA NOODLES from the shelf.  
  
"Don't!" She yells.  
  
"Woah, okay," Davis says, looking repulsed by the box. "Just what's wrong with the lasagna? Did it get moldy or something?"  
  
"No, not that! The lasagna's fine!" Cassie says. "Don't leave the store! If you leave the store something bad's going to-"  
  
**_PVVVOOOOOOMMMMSHING!_**  
  
And then you watch in horror as both Davis Strider and Cassandra Fraiser vanish in a burst of light.  
  
You yell out a frightened "CASSIE!"  
  
"...What the fuuuuuuhhhh?" Dirk Strider faints a moment later, at the same time Nepeta starts SCREAMING and CRYING.  
  
Naturally, Roxy and family come running a moment later upon hearing both of your cries.

* * *

 

 _ **PVVVOOOOOOMMMMSHING!**_  
  
"-happen to... you..."  
  
Your name is Cassandra Fraiser and you suddenly feel that BAD FEELING in your stomach shift and turn to include YOU AS WELL.  
  
"...What the fuck?" Davis Strider looks around- specifically out the window, from which you look too and can see space.  
  
And the Earth. Earth and Space. Also a hint of the moon. But mostly Earth and Space and...  
  
"Oh, this is not good," you say.  
  
"Did... did we just get Abducted? From the fucking King Soopers??" Davis asks. "Seriously, couldn't wait 'til I was at the SGC, huh?"  
  
Then, you hear a CHITTERING SOUND from down the hallway.  
  
"...I don't think whoever brought us here was thinking about 'subtle', Uncle Davis," you say, glancing down that way. "I think they've got bug problems."  
  
"Bugs?" Davis frowns as another round of CHITTERING is heard. "And me without my swatter."  
  
The two of you head down the hallway, unwisely heading TOWARDS the sounds rather than away from them. Davis takes the lead, frowning as the sounds grow more frequent and louder.  
  
Something is coming TOWARDS YOU, and you think you've got a vague idea of WHAT IT IS from one of Joey's Alternia Videos.  
  
Then, a door opens, and  FLOOD of black metal, red glowing FOUR LEGGED MECH-BUGS comes sprawling out from it, marching ever steadily towards the place you transported in from.  
  
Davis pulls you up against the wall and the fucking REPLICATORS march past you without even caring that you're there.  
  
"Well," he mutters, "that sure was a mystery that didn't need solving. But damn if it didn't just get solved."

* * *

 

_**[*Cue SG-1 themesong*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JZ3oAVsFl4) ** _

* * *

 

Your name is DAVIS STRIDER and HOLY SHIT are you in trouble.  
  
Fucking REPLICATORS. Those damned bugs Joey mentioned in one of her videos.  
  
They look a LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT from the pictures she showed there, but, hey, evolution, right?  
  
The bugs clear the hallway and start swarming over the floor where you and Cassie had been beamed in from.  
  
This is... not good.  
  
Not good at all.  
  
Hell, you're not even sure if this is an ASGARD SHIP or an ALTERNIAN SHIP. You've never been inside either. Fuck it if you know. Sure, you've seen some pictures of the Alternian stuff so... probably this is an Asgard ship?  
  
You'll go with Asgard for the moment.  
  
"We should get moving," you order rather than suggest, but Cassie has no objections. And so you both begin making your way down the hallways.  
  
Damn it. She shouldn't have gotten caught up in this mess.  
  
_"If you can hear my voice,"_ you suddenly hear a voice speak over the invisible speakers, _"and are able to understand instructions, follow my directions. Vocalize a 'Yes' if you understand."_  
  
You look to Cassie, and she nods.  
  
"Yes," you say.  
  
_"Proceed down the hallway, and take the first right."_ You keep walking down the hallway, and take a right. A few more instructions later, you're directed to open a door, and there he is.  
  
Lying in a pod, looking pretty fucking out of it, the Asgard who abducted you. There's also a control console that lights up, and begins projecting a message.  
Cassie closes the door behind you as the message starts.  
  
_"Greetings, I am Thor."_ Says the Asgard on the message, the same one in the pod, you guess. _"If, by any chance, you are not Colonel O'neill, I apologize for taking you. This message is playing in the event that my injuries have rendered me either dead, or unconscious and that the automated systems have taken you in hopes that you can help. I will, however, for sake of ease, assume that I managed to catch Colonel O'neill while he is not off world and that it is you who who is watching these messages."_ He pauses, then begins, _"O'neill, it is with great regret and yet hope that I deliver you this message. The Nemesis I mentioned previous are the creatures you have likely seen on your way in- we call them Replicators."_  
  
"Oh, well that's ironic," you remark.  
  
_"In a recent battle with the Replicators, my ship, this ship you now stand on, was infested."_ Recorded Thor continues to explain. " _There, the Replicators learned of Earth's existence, and took control over the navigation systems. I was able to exile my crew to safety, however, and stayed behind to ensure that the Replicators could simply not beam down to Earth upon arriving by destroying the Outbound Transporters."_ He pauses, then says, _"In either case, O'neill, or other member of the SGC, I am sorry that I have most likely doomed you to death."_  
  
"Gee, thanks," Cassie says, glancing at the unconscious Asgard.  
  
_"It is with hope, however, that you will be able to make use of the time I have given you, O'neill."_ Recorded Thor continues. _"The Replicators will not immediately attack Earth upon their arrival. They will instead wait to secure enough numbers for survival upon landing. They will attempt to land this ship and consume your planet. It is my hope that you will be able to find some way to destroy this ship and stop the Replicators on it before they can land, or, in the process of their landing attempt, find some way to cause the ship to break up in re-entry."_  
  
"No pressure or anything," You say.  
  
_"In the event of my death, I have left several recordings available to you on the control stones on this terminal,"_ Recorded Thor concludes. _"In them are schematics on this ship, and information on how to work the matter transportation devices and communications arrays. Good luck, O'neill."_  
  
And thus the recording ends.  
  
"...What now?" Cassie asks you.  
  
"Guess we do some reading," you say, going over to the terminal that had projected the message and mess with one of the stones.  
  
Damn it all. WHY YOU? Why couldn't O'neill have gotten this assignment?  
  
Stupid fucking lousy meteor showers.

* * *

 

Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you watch the STORE'S SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE, frame by frame as Davis Strider and Cassandra Fraiser vanish from the store.  
All around the conference table, people grow nervous.  
  
"It's the same lightshow we saw when Colonel O'neill got taken at my promotion," Major Carter says, frowning. "Why take Davis and Cassie, though?"  
  
"I think they were after Davis specifically," Janet Fraiser says. "Just before that, Cassie had this look on her face that something bad would happen if Davis left the store."  
  
"So out of sheer bad luck," Jude Harley frowns, "Cassie just got scooped up by an Asgard trying to take Davis? Why him, though??"  
  
"Teal'c, Skaara, and I were off world when this happened," Carter says, "and Colonel O'neill, if he's still alive, is on Edora. It's possible Thor, or whoever took Davis, went to the first SGC member he knew he could count on."  
  
"Why not contact us directly?" General Hammond asks.  
  
"Maybe they couldn't?" Skaara suggests.  
  
"Why would they not be able to-?" Your question is cut off, by sheer luck, as a holographic projection of Davis Strider appears off to the side of the room- looking out the window towards the Stargate.  
  
_"Helloo?"_ He asks. _"Anyone there?"_  
  
"Strider?" Ferretti asks, surprised, and thus the man turns around.  
  
_"Ah! There you guys are,"_ He says, looking grim. _"Alright so... we've got a bit of a situation up here. Thor's pretty much half-dead, and his ship's overrun with Replicators."_  
  
"Replicators!?" Pretty much half the room yells or asks in shock.  
  
And then everyone, yourself included, voice a multitude of questions at once.  
  
"AA-AH!" Davis waves his hands. _"One at a time! Please!"_  
  
"Is Cassie alright?" Janet asks- pleading.  
  
_"Yeah, she's fine,"_ Davis says. _"She's looking over some of the recordings Thor left us right now."_  
  
"But aren't Replicators only in Alternia's Galaxy?" Jude asks.  
  
_"If I had to guess,"_ Davis answers, _"the same way we got Mofang on Apophis ship, Thor's Galaxy got some Replicators."_  
  
"What's the plan to stop them?" You ask, voice growing determined.  
  
_"That's... a work in progress,"_ Davis admits. _"Right now we're working off the end goal of 'don't land the ship.' But the how's a bit... in the air right now. No pun intended."_  
  
"Why?" You ask.  
  
_"Well, for starters,"_ Cassandra suddenly pushes her way into the projection, shimmering into existence next to Davis. _"This ship is something of a prototype. A standard build, but it's got a **super** power core designed to power the shields and engines. And it's perfectly stable, up until something breaches core containment, at least."_  
  
"What happens then?" Carter asks.  
  
_"It goes boom,"_ Cassie says. _"Big Boom. Big enough to set the atmosphere on fire from lunar orbit."_  
  
"That seems like a REALLY bad design," Jude says.  
  
_"It's an Anti-Replicator measure actually,"_ Cassie says.  
  
_"Good idea in space where there's no planets; Bad idea in orbit,"_ Davis adds. _"We're trying to figure out a way to disarm it first so we can safely destroy the ship."_ he pauses, _"In the mean time, we do have an idea for how to do that... vaguely."_  
  
"Whatever it is, you can send Cassie down right now while we send someone else up," Janet says. "She doesn't need to be up there."  
  
An uncomfortable look goes between the two projections.  
  
_"Can't... really do that?"_ Davis frowns. _"Thor destroyed outbound transporters to keep the Bugs from getting to Earth without landing."_  
  
_"It's a one way trip, Mom,"_ Cassie says. _"Anyone who comes up isn't coming down."_  
  
_"We're working on that too,"_ Davis says. _"But, uh... admittedly it's not looking good. I wouldn't recommend sending anyone else with the supplies."_  
  
"Oh, God," Janet puts her head in her hands.  
  
_"Anyways,"_ Davis says, _"once we figure out how to disarm the power core, we'll need stuff. About enough PVX to take out a... eh, better play it safe and give us everything. Shotguns, machine rifles, ammo for 'em. Safety glasses would be nice. Um..."_  
  
_"Sandwiches,"_ Cassie says. _"We'll probably be here for a while."_  
  
_"And, uh, yeah. I guess anything else you might think is worth sending up."_ Davis shrugs. _"And we'll need all of that at the base of the Stargate in about... ten minutes?"_ He pauses, then adds, _"Oh, and if you can think of any possible solutions to getting us off this ship safely, write it down in a book and send it up too. No telling how long we'll have the communications' array up."_  
  
"We'll have it ready in ten minutes," Hammond says.  
  
_"Thanks, Sir."_ Davis pauses then says, _"And if we don't make it out, it's been a pleasure serving."_  
  
"Good luck," Hammond says, and then with a returning nod, Davis shuts off the communication transmission.  
  
_"Thanks."_ And just like that, he and Cassie vanish from sight.  
  
A moment later, Hammond says, a determined tone to his voice, "Let's make sure they get off that ship alive, people."  
  
And with that order, everyone gets to work.

* * *

 

Your name is THOR, and as you awaken from another disastrous near-coma, you realize your automated systems have likely doomed you all.  
  
"...You two... weren't supposed to be here," you force out. It hurts to BREATHE. To TALK.  
  
"Sorry, but Colonel O'neill wasn't around," the one in the glasses says. "You got me and a girl who had a bad feeling right before I got taken and tried to stop me from going."  
  
"I... what?" You think it must be the pain, because you didn't understand that sentence at all.  
  
"It's fine, Thor. Just rest. We'll deal with it," the one in the glasses continues. "Well, just as soon as we figure out how to flip the power core's off switch."  
  
Ah. That you understood.  
  
"There is no... off switch," you say. "It was designed that way... to scuttle the ship in the event... Replicators tried shutting it down to prevent... scuttling." Wait. That sentence didn't come out right. "To... scuttle it... I..." Wait.  
  
Simple thoughts. SIMPLE. You can't speak it otherwise.  
  
"Drain the tub," you say, "faster than the water fills it."  
  
...What? That doesn't make sense. You need to...  
  
Need to...  
  
"Sssh. That's fine," the guy with the glasses says. "Don't try to talk. We'll manage."  
  
And then you pass out again.

* * *

 

"Shit, he's really out of it," you're Davis again and thus, you turn to Cassie. "Find that stasis program he mentioned yet?"  
  
"No," Cassie frowns. "Did find the transporter code, though. But we've got another few minutes before they should have everything ready."  
  
And thus, she returns to searching through the videos Thor left behind for O'neill.  
  
Still, you think about what Thor just said.  
  
No off switch... drain the tub faster than the water fills it...  
  
"Cassie," you say, "go back to that video about the power core again?"  
  
"Just a sec," Cassie stops her current video, and goes back to an older one.  
  
Recorded Thor starts speaking, _"The Prototype Power Core used on board this ship generates a perpetual amount of energy, sustaining itself by generating a constant current- a small fraction of which returns to Power Generation and thus begins creating more energy to feed into the rest of the ship. Normal day-to-day operations of this Power Core are stable, and self regenerative. Even active combat barely strains the process, and it would take several hours of sustained combat for the Power Core to drain to depletion and shutdown."_  
  
"Stop," you say, and Cassie stops it.  
  
"Thinking of something?" She asks.  
  
"Maybe," you say. "The problem is we can't shut down the core, and we can't risk just blowing the ship up at its normal operation levels otherwise the explosion will be really really big." You snap your fingers. "We need to do something that can drain the power from the ship faster than it can regenerate it."  
  
"We don't have anything like that on the ship, though," Cassie says. "And if we tamper with the core, it'll explode, so... what do we do?"  
  
"Well..." A timer buzzes, and you have to put that thought on the back burner. "Times up. Beam the stuff up, and I'll go drag it back in here."  
  
"Okay," Cassie nods, and starts typing in a pass code as you go head to the cargo bay. Thor had planned out for you needing to get supplies onto the ship, and so set two fixed points of teleportation. One at the base of the Stargate in the SGC, and one in a cargo bay on this ship.  
  
By the time you get there, the _**PVVVOOOOOOMMMMSHING**_ has rung out, heralding the arrival of the supplies and-  
  
"Oh HELL no," you growl. "What the fuck are you two doing here!?"  
  
"Hammond's orders, Major," Janet Fraiser says, looking determined. "Besides that, you've got an injured patient, and my Daughter is up here. You didn't expect me to stay down on Earth, did you??"  
  
"Okay, fair enough," You say, and quickly unload a SHOTGUN and a vest and some ammo from a box. "What about you, Teal'c?"  
  
"Major Carter has devised a plan that should allow us to safely disarm the Ship's Power Core," Teal'c adds.  
  
"Does it involve draining it faster than it can regenerate?" You ask.  
  
"Indeed," Teal'c nods. "It involves-"  
  
"AH-ah!" you shake your head. "Put a hold on it for the moment and help me get this stuff out of here before the bugs show up," you say, grabbing at a large container.  
  
"Why do we need to get moving?" Fraiser asks, even as she and Teal'c grab some containers and boxes and you get moving.  
  
"The transporter makes an energy pulse the Replicators just find DELICIOUS," you explain.  
  
"Oh, lovely," Fraiser remarks. "And here we just rang the dinner bell."  
  
"Exactly," you say, then pause as the sound of MARCHING REPLICATORS run past you all, skirting around your legs and continuing their way on into the cargo hold.  
  
"Oh my god," Fraiser whispers. "This is a whole lot more terrifying in person."  
  
"Indeed," Teal'c grumbles.  
  
"Oh you have no idea," You sigh in half-relief as the swarm of Replicators passes.  
  
After a few minutes, you reach the med bay, and Cassandra is just as surprised to see her mother and Teal'c as you were.  
  
While Cassie and her mother talk, you take Teal'c to the side and ask, "Okay, so what's Carter's plan?"  
  
"The Flordia Stargate is presently being unpacked and moved into the SGC Gate Room as we speak," Teal'c says. "Major Carter has devised a way to use to to both drain the power from the Ship's Core and provide a means of escape from the ship as it is destroyed."  
  
"We use the Gate to drain the ship's core?" You frown. "But how the hell do we manage that from a regular wormhole?"  
  
"The logic, as I was told, is that we do not use a regular wormhole," Teal'c says, meaningfully.  
  
"...Alternia," you realize, slapping your palm to your forehead. "That's why she's getting the Gate that Joey used and Jake got killed over. The power requirements for that dial out were so enormous that we've never been able to replicate it for longer than a few seconds." You look Teal'c in the eyes, and say, "She's going to send us to fucking Alternia to escape the ship."  
  
"Indeed," Teal'c says.

* * *

 

Your name is Cassandra Fraiser- Cassie to your friends and family- and it's really odd watching your mother work.  
  
"Thor, can you tell me what happened?" She asks the Asgard while giving him a cursory look over. On the outside, he doesn't look hurt, and yet...  
  
"Repli...cator. Acid," Thor wheezes out. "Aerosolized. Breathed it... in."  
  
Ouch. You see the way your mother flexes her hands, trying her best not to flinch. "I'll get a respirator." As she goes over to the existing supplies she brought with her, you watch as Davis and Teal'c bring in the rest of the supplies from the earlier transport.  
  
"-Spacesuits?" Davis asks, finishing mid sentence. "Why the hell would we need spacesuits?"  
  
"Major Carter believes that it would be safer to place explosives on the outside of the vessel than inside where the Replicators might find them," Teal'c answers.  
  
"Well, okay, I guess that makes sense," he pauses. "Just one question: why the hell did the SGC have Spacesuits on short notice?"  
  
"I do not know," Teal'c answers, taking a step back as Mom rushes past him to tend to Thor.  
  
"Wonderful," Davis says, then heads over to you and the projection console. "So, find anything that'll let us blow this ship up?"  
  
"Sort of," you answer, then recite from the videos you just watched. "Kind of related to what you two were just talking about, the ship's designed with internal dampeners that trigger if explosions happen inside, so we can't do anything inside with the PVX."  
  
"Alright, I guess a space walk is in regardless," Davis frowns. "Anything besides that?"  
  
"Yeah," you continue, "if the Shields are fully powered by the power core, they protect the ship from re-entry heat, BUT they're dependent on the deceleration engines to keep the speed at a reasonable rate. If the ship's falling fast enough, even fully powered the shields will lose integrity and collapse and the ship will burn up in re-entry."  
  
"So where's this deceleration engine?" Davis asks.  
  
"One second," you mess around with the stones and then bring up the relevant map. "Here, on the outside of the ship. There's an airlock not TOO far from it, and that's in a section the Replicators haven't touched yet."  
  
Indicated, handily enough, by being BLACKED OUT on the otherwise red dominant map.  
  
"Okay." Davis considers it for a few moments. "So let's say we do this. We plant the bomb, and then... what? Wait for the bugs to start entering the atmosphere?"  
  
"We may not have that time to dial the Stargate successfully in that case," Teal'c says.  
  
"Well," you begin, "the Replicators are drawn to the transmission beams, right? And if we're dialing the Stargate, that's going to be a huge chunk of power they're not going to have available to them."  
  
"They'll swarm the Gate and try to stop us," Davis says, realization starting to dawn on him.  
  
"But! They might also realize they've run out of time to land and start to force landing," you add. "I know I'm assuming a lot about a bunch of self replicating machines, but if we time it right, drain the power core enough, and blow the deceleration engine at the right moment..."  
  
"We've got a shot," Davis says. "Alright, finally, a plan. It's bat shit insane, but hell, so was throwing a fucking bomb at a black hole." He claps his hands and rubs them together. "Now then, who's taking the space walk? I call not it."  
  
"That is why I came along, Major Strider," Teal'c says. "My Symbiote will protect me from any radiation I may be exposed to."  
  
"Well... Okay then," Davis says.  
  
"Major," Mom interjects as she walks over from Thor's pod. "Before we execute any plans we need to talk."  
  
"Alright," Davis says. "What is it?"  
  
"Thor's dying," she says. "I've got a ventilation tube in him but if he inhaled acidic mist, then there's no telling how long his lungs will last. We need to get him proper medical attention and I'm not an expert on Asgard physiology. Alternia is the last place we want to take him in this state."  
  
"It's not like we're going to have much of a choice unless we can put him in stasis," Davis says. "Cassie, did you find that code for it?"  
  
"Not yet," you say.  
  
"Keep looking," Davis says. "Doc, help me get Teal'c suited up. We're going on a space walk."

* * *

 

Your name is Janet Fraiser, and you're feeling pretty OVERWHELMED. Is this what it's like to be out in the field all the time? You're certainly not a fan of all of this excitement and tension.  
  
What were you thinking, coming up here when your only escape is going to be to an alien planet in a WHOLE OTHER GALAXY with no confirmed hope of return??  
  
"Alright, take another left and you should be almost there," Cassie says into a radio.  
  
...Right, That's what you were thinking.  
  
Your daughter shouldn't be anywhere NEAR this kind of life. Jude's sister shouldn't be anywhere near this kind of life. JUDE shouldn't even be anywhere near this kind of life.  
  
And yet... Here you are.  
  
Cassie explaining things through to Davis and Teal'c and guiding them along through the dangerous mission of placing an explosive device outside the ship and on an engine that you're going to blow up just to stop a bunch of eternally hungry mechanical bugs.

It seems absurd on the face of it and yet...  
  
You can't help but think that somewhere, you've made a mistake.  
  
Time moves slowly, and yet much to fast all at the same time. You're afraid of the tension and the excitement, and drawn to it at the same time.  
In some other world, you could probably be on an SG-1 team, or some other SG-team, for that matter.  
  
Soon, Teal'c is heading back to the airlock. What? When had he even gotten outside? You must have stopped paying attention for a moment.  
  
That's when things go wrong.  
  
The inner airlock door suddenly locks, and then Teal'c's air tank ruptures, and Cassie is suddenly yelling for Teal'c to push away from the ship as she starts scrambling stones on the console and-  
  
Teal'c's heat signature disappears from the screen in front of you, and you and Cassie both wait with baited breath...  
  
_"Got him!"_ Davis reports finally. _"He's safe and awake and breathing. Sweet Catch, Cassie!"_  
  
"Thanks," Cassie exhales in relief.  
  
You think the tense moment is almost done, but then alarms start beeping from Thor's pod, and you and Cassie are rushing over there to work on trying to stabilize him.  
  
But damn it all, there's nothing you can do. You're losing him.  
  
Cassie punches a stone button at random, and suddenly, a crystalline glass sphere surrounds the Asgard.  
  
Stasis, at last.  
  
"How did you know that button would work?" You ask her.  
  
"The same way I knew to tell Teal'c to push away," Cassie says. "It felt like the thing that was the least worst option."  
  
"And why did you tell Teal'c to push away from the ship?" You ask, suddenly curious.  
  
"I..." She frowns, and goes over to the console and checks. "Oh wow, I didn't even notice. There WAS a transmitter for the Beaming array pointed at Teal'c, but it's been taken offline by the Replicators."  
  
"Lucky break," you say.  
  
"Not luck," Cassie shakes her head. "I just knew that was the least bad option on the table."  
  
"...What about this Stargate plan?" you ask. "What does that feel like?"  
  
Cassie pauses, thinking on it, then she says... "It feels variable. Like... if we do things at the wrong time, it's the worst plan ever but if we do it at just the right moment everything feels like it pans out right. Like the danger levels are at their lowest."  
  
"But there's still danger?" you ask.  
  
"I feel like there's a chance some Replicators might survive the crash," Cassie tells you, and you feel like your heart's skipped a beat. "But that's all variable too. It's... it's like the events aren't set in stone yet."  
  
"Good," you say. "That means we've got a chance to get through all of this in one piece."  
  
Soon, Davis and Teal'c return, and you're giving Teal'c a quick check-up to make sure there are no ill effects from his brief lack of oxygen.  
  
That's when you see that his air tank was ruptured by what looks like ACID. More of this gunk. How the hell could a tiny mechanical spider synthesize such a thing?  
  
It's a minor miracle Thor lasted as long as he did.

* * *

 

The Asgard ship's sensors indicate that there's finally something LARGE within the targeting sensors' range of view.  
  
The Gate is in place and ready for transport.  
  
"Alright," you're DAVIS STRIDER, and you go over to the console with the communication's array. "Time to let them know we're ready to go."  
  
You activate the stone and...  
  
Nothing.  
  
That's when you all hear REPLICATOR CHITTERING in the walls.  
  
"Damn it," you swear. "Alright, it's go time. We're doing this thing now."  
  
"Yeah," Cassie nods. "If we wait any longer... I've got a bad feeling about if we wait longer." She goes over to the console and starts tapping in the code to transport the Stargate up. "Gate'll be arriving in 30 seconds," she says.  
  
"Alright, let's go!" you say, and everyone saddles up with shotguns and goggles.  
  
Fraiser disconnects the top of Thor's pod from the rest of the device (Of course you found instructions for THAT feature, but not how to turn on stasis), and with that, the four of you make your way straight towards the cargo bay.  
  
You arrive in the room just in time to watch that SNAKE THEMED, HAND MADE STARGATE appear with the traditional _**PVVVOOOOOOMMMMSHING!**_ The Gate itself sits within a wooden box that's had its front and back sides removed, and besides a large spool of POWER LINES there's-  
  
"JUDE HARLEY!" Janet yells as she sees the one extra TAG ALONG standing alongside the Gate.  
  
"Before anyone says anything!" Jude holds up a laptop like a shield. "It's Carter's orders!"  
  
"Oh for the love of-" You groan. "OKAY!" you clap your hands. "We can discuss this staggering turn of events later but right now TICK TOCK: TIME IS DEAD US! Fraisers! Take position and keep to the side so you don't get caught in the Kawoosh! JUDE! Tell us what we need to do!"  
  
"Right!" Jude says, and then kicks at the large spool of cable. "Get me a place we can tap into the ship's power!"  
  
You and Teal'c quickly locate the nearest LIGHT SOURCE, and with Cassie's nod of approval, Teal'c smashes the light's glass open, and you both shove the end of the large cable into the socket.  
  
Jude checks his laptop, and grins. "We've got power!"  
  
"Start dialing!" You order, and Jude types in a sequence of nine keys.  
  
A moment later- the lights in the room flicker and dim, and then the Stargate SPINS TO LIFE. A few moments later- **CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- the first Chevron LOCKS.  
  
"Alright!" you ready your shotgun. "It's go time people! Janet, Teal'c! Eyes on the door and the walls! Shoot any Replicators you see! JUDE! CASSIE! With Thor! Get him through the Gate the moment it's open!"  
  
**CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- that's chevron two. You hear REPLICATORS marching towards the room from down the hall.  
  
"Got it!" Jude says, taking the laptop over to the floating pod where Cassie is standing. Janet comes over to join yours and Teal'c's front guard formation.  
  
The lights flicker again and- **CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- is it just you or is this both incredibly fast and incredibly slow all at the same time? Chevron Three.  
  
"No offense, Jude," you hear Cassie begin, "but why did Carter send you and not come herself?"  
  
"Well, I did volunteer. But, uh, it was obvious she was conflicted about coming so," Jude likely rolls his eyes- as do you. "YEAH. She's staying behind to make sure Colonel O'neill gets rescued."  
  
"I am Having WORDS with Sam when we get back to Earth," Janet mutters.  
  
"Same," you say as- **CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- chevron four locks. The room shakes dramatically, and you can't tell if it's the GATE'S DOING, or the entire ship begins SHAKING as you feel it suddenly DROPPING OUT OF ORBIT.  
  
That's when one of the buttons to open a door practically VAPORIZES into a bunch of bright red Particles and a REPLICATOR CRAWLS THROUGH.  
  
BA-BANG! Teal'c blasts it, and the parts scatter to the floor- surprisingly in both larger and smaller chunks than you'd have expected.  
  
**CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- chevron five.  
  
That's when the door opens- the whole room shakes violently- and a swarm of Replicators comes marching through it. All of them are glowing a MIGHTY ANGRY RED.  
  
"OPEN FIRE!" you yell, and all three of you start BLASTING THE HELL out of the Replicators.  
  
**CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- chevron six locks somewhere in the midst of that.  
  
"CASSIE!" You yell over the gun fire. "TELL ME WHEN TO BLOW IT!"  
  
"WILL DO!" She yells back.  
  
**CHUNK- _THWUMP_** \- chevron seven. Gotta love automatic dialing programs.  
  
The room is definitely shaking because of the Stargate now. Impossible to tell if the ship's moving at all.  
  
One of the LIGHTS suddenly explodes- showering that part of the room in sparks, and then darkness. Moments later, Replicators come swarming out and Janet swings around to take aim at them.  
  
"ANY SECOND NOW!" you yell.  
  
**CHUNK- _THWA_ -CHUNK!**  
  
CHEVRON EIGHT!  
  
**WAAAAA WAAAAA!**  
  
"DODGE!!" you order, and you, Teal'c and Janet all dodge to the left or right, and let the COMPLETELY OVERSIZED vortex explode forwards through the opened door frame and utterly VAPORIZE a metric ton of replicators with the GODSEND of a sound:  
  
_**KAWOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**_  
  
The Eventhorizon stabilizes, and the room stops shaking as much. That means what little shaking is left is definitely because the ship is moving.  
  
Despite that, you can't help but smile, because the Replicators are all holding back as if in confusion, or maybe SHOCK at the rather large TRENCH that's cut through the floor and out the wall.  
  
You, Teal'c and Janet all take the opportunity to take CHEAP SHOTS at the immobile Replicators before they start moving again.  
  
"ALTERNIA!" Cassie suddenly yells into a radio, "THIS IS SG-1 OF EARTH REQUESTING YOU LOWER ANY SHIELD OR IRIS YOU HAVE UP! WE'RE COMING IN HOT! REPLICATORS, I REPEAT, REPLICATORS!"  
  
Ah- good thinking. Also- really? SG-1? You're really going to use the SG-1 moniker? Out of everyone here only Teal'c is SG-1 so-  
  
WHATEVER. You blow up some more Replicators. You're going to save it for later.  
  
"Jude! Go first!" Cassie says, pushing the hovering pod with Thor in it to the Gate.  
  
"Right!" Jude nods, and then he takes the pod the rest of the way through. SCHLORP.  
  
"CASSIE!" You yell. "HOW LONG?"  
  
"NOT YET!" she yells back, hovering at the Gate's eventhorizon.  
  
"WHAT ABOUT NOW?" You ask.  
  
"NOT YET!" She answers.  
  
The ship continues to shake- getting more violent. This is DEFINITELY RE-ENTRY.  
  
Your gun runs out of ammo, and you prime the detonation remote. "NOW?"  
  
Cassie hesitates a moment, then yells- "NOW!" before jumping through the Eventhorizon.  
  
You hit the switch on the detonator.

* * *

 

Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you can't help but feel the tension in the air as the display of NORAD tracking the descending fireball in the sky shows on every computer monitor.  
  
"It's changed course!" Walter suddenly yells out. "It's lost control! It's burning up in the atmosphere!"  
  
"C'mon, Jude." You whisper. Why oh WHY did you let him go through with this again?  
  
Oh. Right.  
  
"I've already lost TWO PEOPLE I care about to this damned Gate and I'm NOT going to lose anyone else! When they USE IT, SO AM I!" Jude had emphatically yelled when the decision came down to it.  
  
He'd been gone from the ramp less than a minute later.  
  
"And... Touch down!" Walter confirms. "It's crash landed in the pacific ocean! Search teams are heading in to scour the wreckage."  
  
"They did it," Carter exhales in relief. "That was too close."  
  
"Now," Hammond says as he puts a comforting hand on your shoulder, "we hope they made it through to Alternia in one piece."  
  
"Yeah," you say, forcing a smile and a nod. "Here's hoping they made it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Act 3 draws to a close on the SG-1 side, and soon to follow, on Alternia's side.


	33. ALT:03x16: In the Darkness is the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A creature there, in Darkness Lies/  
> Why is it that he has my eyes??/

"Aaaand.. Done!" Your name is JOEY CLAIRE and you smile as you finish regrowing REENAH'S HAND. "All set and ready to go!"  
  
"Fucking hurt like a bitch to lose it AND get it back," Reenah smiles, though it's from an unfamiliar face- the one that she had long before the bracelet got involved. "But hell if it wasn't worth it to see the look on ol' Condy's face."  
  
"So... are you going to start using your old name again?" You ask.  
  
The Bracelet she'd been wearing had literally, in its last moments of contact with Reenah, undone the physical changes it had made to her appearance and blood color- She was still a sea dweller, just violet blooded now. For the moment you've both decided to tell the other soon-to-be time travelers that these changes are your doing instead- as a "disguise."  
  
"...No," she shakes her head. "Maybe. I'm not sure yet."  
  
"Well, whatever you decide, you won't hear a word from me otherwise," you say.  
  
"Thanks," Reenah says, and then you head to the Stargate.  
  
The solar flare will happen any minute now, and so Tyzias is dialing up Alternia while the Gate is still there in the present to get a lock.  
  
_**WAA WAA! KAWOOSH!**_  
  
"Alright!" Dammek calls out, "Everyone going to the future with us! Step up to the Gate but don't go through until we give the signal.  
  
The smattering of Trolls who have agreed to go to the future all step up to the Gate, included among them half of your own team- Dammek, Tyzias, Daraya, and Mallek.  
  
The sun begins to turn red, and Callie gives the order, "GO!"  
  
Tyzias leaps through first, with Barzum in arm, then Daraya leads through most of the group, followed by Mallek and everyone else.  
  
Dammek hesitates, then looks to Callie and puts his hands into a shape so as to form a Diamond. Callie returns the gesture, and then Dammek jumps through the Gate right as the red shifted light returns to normal.  
  
The Gate remains active, however.  
  
"So..." You begin. "That's that."  
  
"I guess we-" whatever Xefros was going to say is cut off by Dammek's voice cutting over the radio.  
  
_**"SHIT! FUCK! DAMN IT!"**_ he swears, then lowers his voice to a harsh whisper. _"I missed it! I missed the flare!"_  
  
"What?" You radio back over the APPARENTLY STILL NORMAL wormhole. "Did everyone else-?"  
  
_"They're not here! It's just me! Fucking hell. I can't believe I missed it. Damn it."_ He keeps whispering. _"I'm stuck in some asshole's ship cargo bay. And I found the DHD but some jerk face smashed the control crystals! FUCK. ME."_  
  
"Okay," you say, "sit tight, Dammek, we'll think of something."    
  
_"Alright, I'll just... find a crate to hide in I guess,"_ and then the wormhole shuts down.  
  
"Damn it," Xefros swears, "it just had to be something, didn't it?"  
  
"I guess now we know what we're using those stun grenades for," Mierfa remarks.  
  
"It is about time for that, isn't it?" You turn to Latula, "Latula? Keep an eye on the Gate in case Dammek or someone else finds a way to dial back in." You look to your team, "We need to check on the Empress' progress on hiding the crystals."  
  
And so, you dial up the world your team found the RED CRYSTAL on, and do a SPOT CHECK by resonating with the crystal on your bracelet.  
  
Sure enough, the RED CRYSTAL is somewhere on the planet but all the other parts except for ADMINISTRATION are HIGH ABOVE YOU. The Empress is making good time. She'll be moving along any second now.  
  
"Admin's missing, Reaper's hidden here, the Empress is moving to hide the Orange one, and our past selves pretty much dialed right back in after we left, I'll bet," you sigh in relief.  
  
"Well, that's a small comfort," Xefros mutters. "How long should we wait?"  
  
"Until we're sure the Empress has-" you pause as the resonance of the other bracelet pieces suddenly vanishes from your mind's eye. "Okay, she's left."  
  
You wait another few minutes before risking dialing back to Haven, during which time you take the opportunity to DISMISS your Troll disguise (Because you sure as hell weren't wearing it the first time around). Thankfully, when you return all you see is a bewildered Latula who remarks, "Oh. That was stupid of me. Of course it wasn't the current you. She didn't have her Bracelet."  
  
"Now we just have to wait for them to gate back," Callie says. "Then we can get that bag of stun bombs and go rescue Dammek."  
  
"In the mean time, let's rig up a mobile dialing computer from the Dragonfly's nav system," you say. "We're probably going to need it if we're gonna get Dammek off of that ship."  
  
It takes a few hours to do just that, and by the time you have it ready and tested properly on the Haven gate (It works! Yay!), your PAST SELVES return from their crystal collection mission.  
  
The past version of your team all stare at you for a few moments, then Past You asks, "How!?"  
  
You glance nervously over at the Dragonfly hidden behind some trees, and say, "SHENANIGANS."  
  
For a moment, Past You is completely enraged- only for it to pass away as Callie steps forwards, and says, "We need that bag of stun bombs, if you don't mind."  
  
"Oh! Sure!" Past Callie steps over hand hands the HOT POTATO of a TIME ARTIFACT over to her Future Self.  
  
Both Xefrosi continue to stand there looking confused and bemused respectively to their chronological progression. Neither say anything to each other, but Present Xefros gives Past Xefros a THUMBS UP, to which Past Xefros freaks out a little over.  
  
Your Mierfa takes Past Mierfa off to the side and offers her some advice that leaves your GIRLFRIEND blue in the face with an embarassed blush.  
  
You might ask her what they talked about after you get back. Oh, and speaking of that.  
  
You look to your past self and say, "That's probably for the best."  
  
"Bwuh!?" She blinks, confused.  
  
"Okay! Let's go! Alternia waits for no Trolls!" You give the order, and Callie quickly dials up Alternia- and what a relief, it actually still WORKS.  
  
As you and your team head through the Gate, you suddenly remember that your past selves stayed on Haven for a grand total of THREE DAYS without noticing any evidence of your future selves presence in Haven- or your return, for that matter.  
  
You're probably not going to get back to Haven any time soon, you realize as the gate suddenly shuts down behind you as you exit- and the whole ship suddenly TREMBLES as the familiar sound of a hyperspace jump occurs.  
  
"Well, shit," Xefros swears. "That didn't go according to plan."  
  
"Stable Time Loops," you mutter. "They're such a fucking headache."

* * *

 

Commander Naihte jumped up in alarm as a burned, and battered SCRATCH DOCTOR stormed into his private quarters.  
  
"S-SIR!" he exclaims. "I- What happened!?"  
  
"Time Travelers IS WHAT HAPPENED!" Scratch yells- a flicker of GREEN LIGHT slips out through the cracks in his helmet.  
  
"You were on the Moon?!" Commander Naihte asks, astonished. "You survived THAT!?"  
  
"Yes, I survived," Scratch growls- and a dangerous aura seems to light up around him, flickering bright white for a moment before radiating through multiple other hues. "And now I suspect they've found a way onto your SHIP."  
  
"What makes you say that!?" Commander Naihte asks, frowning.  
  
"You're carrying Alternia's Stargate, aren't you?" Scratch asks, pointedly.  
  
"...Fair point." Commander Naihte frowns. "Well, if they are on the ship, they're going to regret coming here."  
  
"...Why?" Scratch asks.  
  
"We just received a distress call from the Fleet combating the Aliens," Naihte says. "We're en-route to battle them right now. We just jumped to Hyperspace. I didn't even know you'd gotten on board- Wait." He blinks. "HOW did you get on board??"  
  
Scratch stands there for a moment. "...That's not important," he finally says.  
  
"I'd say it is," Naihte says.  
  
"It really isn't," Scratch counters.  
  
"You're not even wearing a space suit- so you couldn't have jumped from the bloody moon when we passed by it-" Naihte continues.  
  
"IT'S REALLY." Scratch raises his right hand, fingers poised to snap. "NOT THAT IMPORTANT. TO THE SITUATION THAT IS AT HAND."  
  
"...Okay," Naihte nods, reluctantly dropping it. "I'll have my security team search the ship for the intruders."  
  
"In the meantime," Scratch turns to leave, "I'll secure a potential exit point."

* * *

 

You're now XEFROS TRITOH and finding Dammek was easier than you'd thought. He was just accessing a ship console and seeing where the hell the ship was going.  
  
"So," he begins once looking back for a moment to confirm that it was you all who came up behind him. "Good news and bad news. Good news is we're getting our preview of the Battle with the Supergate first hand. Bad news is we're getting our preview of the Battle with the Supergate FIRST. HAND."  
  
"We're going to that battle?" Joey asks.  
  
"Yup," Dammek nods. "Right this fucking minute. We're not that far out from Alternia, actually."  
  
"I had no idea it fell this close to the end of the Summoner's Revolt," Callie says. "Wait. What did happen with the Summoner? He hasn't been killed yet, has he?"  
  
"No clue," Dammek says. "All I know is we're answering a distress call about a 'giant ring shaped weapon.' I don't think they even know it's a Stargate yet."  
  
"Wonderful," Callie laments. "Now what do we do?"  
  
"We find a place, hold tight, try not to get caught, and wait for the ship to drop out of hyperspace," Joey says.  
  
"Then we have to get off," Mierfa adds. "And quickly incase this ship gets destroyed. Is there a hanger bay?"  
  
"Uhh..." Dammek checks the screen, and taps it a few times. "Yeah, small ass thing, but it's got a couple of shuttles in it."  
  
"Let's make our way there and hide on one of them," Joey decides. "The moment we spot trouble, we bail ship and find the neartest planet with a Stargate."  
  
"Here," Callie starts handing out stun bombs. "Keep a bunch on you, we don't know when we might need them."  
  
"Good idea," Joey nods.  
  
And so you begin sneaking your way through the ship.  
  
As you move through the ship, you start to feel like a headache is brewing. As you suspiciously not run into anyone, it gets worse and a bit worse, and a little bit even more worse, until finally you mention it to the group.  
  
"Me too, actually," Dammek says.  
  
"I'm fine," Mierfa shrugs.  
  
"A little bit of a pounding, yes," Callie agrees.  
  
"Let me check something real quick..." Joey says, and then the bracelet pulses.  
  
That's when there's a scream, and some yellow blooded gremlin-sized troll practically falls out of the nearest ventilation shaft. They put their hands to their head and yell out some kind of jibberish about "Too much too much!"  
  
And just like that, your headache starts to lift. (Or, atleast, starts to stop growing worse.)  
  
"What the hell?" Dammek asks, staring at the wriggling troll on the ground. "What's a kid doing on a ship like this?"  
  
"Besides us, you mean?" Mierfa asks.  
  
"AAAAHH! TOO MUCHHHHH!" The Troll on the floor writhes about. You catch a whif of their breath- ew. When's the last time they brushed their teeth? ...Or bathed, for that matter. Their hair is a total mess.  
  
"What did you do to her?" You ask.  
  
"I just sent out a pulse with Regent to see if there was anyone nearby we couldn't see," Joey answers. "All of that energy just went straight to her instead of sweeping out like it should have."  
  
"TOOMUCHTOOMUCHTOOMUUUUCHH!" the kid continues to whine and cry and kick. And YEAH that's a lot of noise. "MAXLOOOL! HEEELLLLLP!!!"  
  
"Can't you shut her... him... WHATEVER up?" Dammek asks. "They're going to bring the guard down on us if we don't do something!"  
  
Joey nods, kneels down, and takes out a stun bomb/grenade. She holds it up to the troll's mouth and you get the idea. You ALL get the idea and cover your mouths and noses. Joey squeezes the grenade and POOF. Spores everywhere!  
  
The yellow blooded kid's eyes shoot open in shock as they gasp for breath and then... "I can see everything..." ...They stop screaming, and instead are whispering, "The future is in the past... It's full of stars!" And then the Paralysis kicks in and they just sort of lie there, staring vacantly into the great beyond of nothing in particular.  
  
Because their eyes are black voids full of nothing. Like miniature black holes or something.  
  
"Holy shit," Joey mutters as she stands up, putting a hand to her head. "I think this Troll's some kind of psychic energy vampire. I wasn't feeling it before I tried using Shaper to keep me from being affected by the spores, but even out of it like this, they're just... siphoning off energy. It's like it's a thing they're doing without even trying."  
  
"What do we do about ...her?" Callie asks, unsure of the Troll's exact gender. "We can't just leave her here, but at the same time, we can't take her with us."  
  
The sound of boots marching down a hallway makes your decision.

* * *

 

Less than a minute later, Kuprum Maxlol found his partner in PSYCHIC DEVICES lying on the floor, paralyzed, staring up at nothing with a blissed out expression on their face.  
  
"Oh, Folykl, what did these intruders do to you?" He asks, mostly to himself because Folykl Darane's respone was to mutter something about Kuprum murdering a BEEKEEPER and STEALING THEIR SYMBOL. And honestly, that made no sense at all. He'd never gone near any beekeepers in his entire life, let alone murder any and steal their sign.  
  
Folykl was REALLY out of it.  
  
"The 'other heiress' Commander Naihte mentioned must be on board," Kuprum Maxlol decided, standing up and turning to the guards accompanying him. "They've clearly put Folykl into a hypnotic trance using the Bracelet. Find them! BRING. THEM. TO. ME."  
  
They would pay dearly for doing this to his Moirail.  
  
"*Mumbles* Dovahkiin, la-la-born... how his maw eats them all... *Mumbles*"  
  
...Whatever it was they did. Seriously, that wasn't even on KEY for that melody.

* * *

 

You're now Mierfa Durgas and while you don't have any PSYCHIC ABILITIES, you've got a gnawing feeling in your stomach that something bad is about to happen.  
You and your team round the corner into the SHIP'S LANDING BAY and- oh.  
  
OH Yeah. That would explain it.  
  
The ships had all been SUNKEN into the floor via retractable floors, the air lock is blocked by some RATHER DEADLY LOOKING FORCE SHIELDS layered over top the usual atmosphere retaining shields, and there are guards everywhere, but also... there was just a guy.  
  
A guy in a burnt and tattered formerly white suit, wearing a space helmet that likely, once upon a time, was pristine and a complete white orb. Instead, it now has a multitude of cracks over what would be the right eye.  
  
The Guards all seem to be keeping a safe distance away from him.  
  
"YOU." The man growls. "DESTROYED." He stomps his foot- green flames briefly ignite around him. "MY!" his hands flex, and you hear something ABOVE YOU creak dangerously as LIGHTS FLICKER DANGEROUSLY. "HOUSE!!!!"  
  
And then a piece of the CEILING suddenly tears free and falls to the floor below- or rather, onto THE SHIP sunken into the floor below. One of your very FEW escape measures is suddenly pinned under a piece of metal plating and support beams.  
  
The Guards all RUN AWAY like cowards from the man you're pretty much certain is the MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE, THE "SCRATCH DOCTOR."  
  
Well, that makes things a bit easier.  
  
"Callie, Mierfa," Joey begins, decaptchaloging her laser cutter. "Get a ship going. I'll distract Cueball head here."  
  
"But we're in HYPERSPACE!" Callie points at the visual artifacts of hyperspace travel going on outside the ship, visible through the entry/exit port.  
  
"Get. A Ship. Going." Joey orders, and she makes it CLEAR that she's not going to argue.  
  
"...Alright," Callie nods, and you and her start making your way across the room. All the while, you feel EYES focused on you.  
  
"I don't know WHAT you're planning, Time Travelers," The man in the helmet- the one called SCRATCH- growls at you. "BUT YOU WON'T SUCCEED!"  
  
And then he summons what looks to be a SWORD made out of flickering green and white energy into his hand. It CRACKLES and POPS like a busted radio receiver.  
  
"Xef, Dam," you hear Joey continue. "Do you still got the equipment we were practicing with last night in your decks, or did you leave it on Haven?"  
  
"Damn straight we got it," Xefros nods, decaptchaloguing a guitar. Dammek likewise decpatchalogues a portable drum set strapped to his body with a harness.  
  
"Then lay me down a beat," Joey says, starting to step forwards- you watch as her shoes suddenly are swapped out for a PINK SLIPPER and one of the TAP SHOES she'd gotten for her birthday.  
  
"Music won't save you," SCRATCH declares. "You will DIE."  
  
"It doesn't feel like today's where I die," Joey swings her right hand out to the side- and activates the Laser Cutter with a SNAP-HISS that cuts through the air with a loud CRACK due to the momentum of being swung while activated.  
  
"You don't know anything! Your Future Knowledge is USELESS HERE!!!" SCRATCH counters, his voice raising an octave. "YOU NEVER HAVE HAD AN ADVANTAGE AND YOU NEVER WILL!" he raises his sword. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL IF I HAVE TO! I WILL ENSURE THAT LORD ENGLISH'S PLANS FOR THIS ALPHA TIMELINE ARE PUT BACK ON SCHEDULE!!"  
  
"English? Joey repeats, then laughs. "Next time you see that poser, tell him Clowns don't make very effective shock soldiers."  
  
"WHY YOU-!" Scratch growls.  
  
Suddenly, [XEFROS strums at his guitar](https://homestuck.bandcamp.com/track/megalovania), raising the tension in the room.

"Here!" Callie suddenly kneels at a platform and starts typing away at it. You ready your NUNCHUCKS and take up a guarding position.  
  
Joey and Scratch square off, energy based weapons readying. And then for a moment, Xefros goes silent. Joey taps her foot four times, the ONE TWO THREE FOUR clack of metal on metal sets a beat, and then the battle begins to Xefros' GUITAR SLAYING and DAMMEK'S DRUMMING.  
  
Scratch launches into some kind of TELEPORTING SHADOW STEP- swinging down with his sword in an ENRAGED RUSH that Joey seems to have expected, because she suddenly SIDE STEPS and the Cueball headed man MISSES. His sword gets stuck in the floor.  
  
That's when JOEY is the one who launches into her own sort of FLASH STEP- spreading her wings and circling and circling faster and faster around SCRATCH as he pries his sword free, and growls as he tries to figure out her pattern.  
  
[0:30]  
  
Then he does, and he launches into a furious series of swings and lunges- trying his best to skewer the girl who had dared challenge him, only to find each and every strike BLOCKED by the laser cutter's blue blade.  
  
You can barley keep up with the fighting- it's so fast- faster than what you've come to expect from a fight.  
  
Scratch suddenly throws his energy sword at Joey- your heart feels like it stops beating for a moment. But Joey somehow grabs the damed thing in a psyonic grip and throws it right back in the Cueball man's FACE.  
  
[0:40]  
  
**WHA- _BAM!_**  
  
The Blade rebounds off of the cracked section of the helmet hilt first- causing more cracks to form and sending the sword spiraling up into the air.  
  
Suddenly, it vanishes and is back in Scratch's hand and he's lunging forwards with a roar.  
  
Joey suddenly spirals away on her slippered foot, twirling from him to dodge another sword strike, then another, and another- each and every one is expertly twirled away from, gracefully, like a planet avoiding a sudden meteor shower.  
  
Scratch mad- oh is he mad- but no more so than when he swings around trying to go for a HEAD SHOT and instead gets a STUN GRENADE thrown at his face. Scratch brings his sword up to block.  
  
[0:54]  
  
Thus, you find out easily that stun grenades don't fare well against the bladed edge of Scratch's energy sword, instead transforming into a MIGHTY FINE EXPLOSION of STUN SPORE POWDER that, under the FLICKERING CEILING LIGHTS, glimmers and shines like FAIRY DUST.  
  
"SEASONINGS, PLEASE!" Xefros yells out as he and Dammek take precautions and back a bit away from the rapidly expanding stun cloud.  
  
Seemingly unaffected by the sudden cover of stun spores, dancing and giggling, JOEY CLAIRE fades away, only to begin reappearing here, there, and everywhere as MIRRAGES and AFTERIMAGES within the cloud of Spores.  
  
Did- Did you breathe in any by accident just now?? No, she's doing something with the Bracelet- you can see it glinting in the light when she appears every now and then.  
  
Scratch swings, roaring as he slashes at every single after image he can find, again and again, mirage after mirage until finally... FINALLY, he's dissipated most of the cloud, and only ONE Joey remains standing, smirking at him like a TEEN-AGED GIRL about to put a FIFTH COIN on an already completed row of CONNECT FOUR.  
  
(You're not sure what that metaphor means, but Joey brought it up once and you feel it's VERY APPROPRIATE.)  
  
"WHY ARE YOU GRINNING!!?" Scratch roars.  
  
"'Cause you're an easily played PUPPET!" Joey taunts back.  
  
And while Scratch ROARS and launches into a RECKLESS SWING at his target, who once again, blocks his attack with practiced ease, Callie cheers as the spaceship next to you suddenly starts to ascend from its place in the floor.  
  
He never noticed- even as his sword locks blades with Joey's sword.  
  
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" He roars in her race.  
  
"No, YOU!" and then Joey kicks him between the legs with her tap-dance shoe, and Scratch reels backwards, howling in pain.  
  
[1:43]  
  
And for a moment, the music slows to a natural point. Everyone slows down to catch their breaths, even as Joey smugly remarks, "Tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet go on sale this December, Folks."  
  
Xefros nervously chuckles, and you can't help but let out a WHOOP at that pun.  
  
[1:56]  
  
"THis... You....!" Scratch  hisses at Joey, glaring at her even as the music starts to pick up.  
  
"Send my regards to English, Scratch," Joey hisses right back. "In the form of a psychic blast to the head!!"  
  
Scratch takes a moment to process that, and then, completely forgetting about the injury he just sustained- roars, and charges forwards with clear intent to STAB HER THROUGH THE CHEST.  
  
Joey just stand her ground, SMIRK WIDENING as Scratch closes the distance.  
  
And then he SLIPS ever so slightly on a fragment of the Stun Bomb case that didn't get destroyed, loosing his traction for the moment it takes for Joey to toss another stun bomb in his face again.  
  
This time, the spores go in through the damaged section of the helmet as the bomb explodes. Scratch tries to charge again- coughing, sputtering, and generally builds up enough momentum to go sailing past Joey as she TWIRLS out of the way and then-  
  
[2:28]  
  
_**CLOBER!!**_  
  
  
\--She hits him over the back of the head with the handle of her Laser Cutter, and Scratch falls face first to the floor- his helmet making a loud shattering sound on impact. The music stops, everyone holds their breath for the stun spores in the air...

Scratch doesn't get back up. The Energy sword in his hand flickers away and vanishes a moment later.  
  
A horrified look of relief goes over Joey's face, and she, Dammek and Xefros take off at a run towards the ship Callie has just finished rasing up from the floor.  
  
Callie opens up the entry port, and you all hurry inside before she closes it again and then head up towards the bridge.  
  
"How long do you think those spores are going to hold him?" Dammek asks as he jumpes into the captain's chair.  
  
"I'd really rather not think about it!" Xefros answers as he slips into the pilot's chair and start booting things up.  
  
You and and Joey take up positions like you did that first day a whole sweep ago, you on damage control, and Joey on radar.  
  
Callie takes up the engineer's seat, and starts typing away. "Okay! We lucked out! We've got weapons on this thing AND a hyper drive of our own! We can blast our way out of the dock and then-"  
  
"TIME TRAVELERS!!!!!"  
  
"Oh for fucking-" you mutter as you bring up an exterior camera view of SCRATCH trying to get himself to his feet. "What the hell is this guy made of!?"  
  
Suddenly, you get the answer to that as the man rips off his broken helmet and glares at the ship.  
  
Joey squeaks, and goes pale.  
  
The man looks... HUMAN, almost. If not for his DEEP BLUE SKIN, bright WHITE HAIR, and the ALTERNATING COLORS of his eyes- Red and Green- flashing and switching sides until stabilizing on PURE GREEN. You're vaguely reminded of when Joey's eyes glow when she's using ADMINISTRATION.  
  
He's clearly building up to an attack, the way a bright green aura is flaring around him, slowly building in intensity to a bright white inferno of flames.  
  
"FUCK YOU!" Callie roars, and then you hear the sound of the ship's WEAPONS FIRING- and you watch as the man called SCRATCH suddenly has to dodge laser blasts targeting after him.  
  
It's with a bit of curiosity that you notice that Callie's herding him straight towards the--  
  
**PCHUNG! PCHUNG!**  
  
**_PFWAAAMPH!! *SPARK SPARK!*_**  
  
\--The power conduits feeding both force shields over the air lock port, which suddenly explode from the damage and both force shields suddenly disengage and AIR BEGINS RUSHING OUT through the hole in the ship that was always there but was never a problem until JUST NOW.  
  
Scratch is forced to grab onto something mounted to a wall to keep from being sucked out into the OPEN HYPERSPACE TUNNEL rushing past you.  
  
Objects not so fortunate end up pretty much tearing themselves apart the moment they leave the confines of the ship.  
  
"We can't go out in that!" Dammek yells. "We'll be torn to shreds if we-!!"  
  
That's when the hyperspace effects suddenly stop and you all feel a jolt as the ship drops down to normal speed. Naturally, it's into the middle of a LARGE FIREFIGHT between SORIAN EMPIRE, ALTERNIAN EMPIRE, and UNKNOWN ALIEN ARMADA SHIPS! There's also a giant fucking SUPER GATE in the far off distance, already starting to light up as if it's dialing out- or perhaps someone else is dialing in.  
  
"Nevermind!" Dammek then orders, "PUNCH IT!"  
  
"PUNCHING IT!" Xefros acknowledges and you feel the ship SHOOT FORWARDS through the opened airlock before any safety precautions can turn on and seal the hole.  
  
Xefros expertly dodges you around some LASER FIRE and then AS FAR AWAY from the ongoing space battle as can be physically done in as short amount of time as you have available.  
  
After a few moments of it looking like nobody is following you, everyone sighs in relief... well, everyone except Joey, who looks absolutely terrified still.  
  
"Claire?" You ask, going over to her. "You okay?"  
  
"He looked like..." Joey mutters into your shoulder as she suddenly hugs you. "He looked like a blue skinned..."  
  
"What did he look like?" You ask, feeling like this should probably be more Xefros' job as Moirail but what the hell, she's terrified of SOMETHING and Xefros has to pilot the ship so you don't crash and-  
  
"Pa." She says, voice a terrified whisper. "He looked like Pa with blue skin and white hair and- and-." She whimpers. "His eyes, when they were green. They- they were glowing like mine do when I'm using Admin. Why?!" she looks up at you, said minty green eyes watering and looking betrayed beyond belief. "WHY DID HE HAVE MY EYES!?"  
  
"Uh-" Dammek suddenly says, "I hate to interject this serious moment but we've got a fucking problem."  
  
"What?" You ask, turning to glare at Dammek.  
  
"English just showed up," Dammek says, pointing out the window.  
  
And so you all look out the window, and watch in horror at what transpires in front of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Aleternia Chapter: 03x17: An Eternity Served Cold  
> \---  
> If you've felt your stomach drop out that's only natural. ENGLISH is a terrifying force to be reckoned with.


	34. ALT:03x17: An Eternity Served Cold

**[>[S] CALIBORN: ENTER.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rRONx12N_k) **

Sitting within a strange kind of ENGINE ROOM, a swirled crystal of RED AND GREEN- looking almost as if made out of candy- spun and spun and spun, providing power to a massive, serpentine vessel.  
  
[0:11]  
  
The Prior of the ORI VESSEL, SKULDAFN, smiled to himself as he begun the Dialing sequence to connect back to the HOME GALAXY.  
  
Soon, the fleet waiting on the other side of the SUPERGATE would be alerted to the completion of it on your side, and would utterly decimate these fools.  
  
That was when there was a STRANGE kind of effect in the distance, almost like a HYPERSPACE WINDOW, except colored very oddly indeed.  
  
A sort of swirling mess of RED AND GREEN. Condensing like a mist out of thin air- and glowing brightly as it seemingly began to solidify.  
  
[0:27]  
  
In fact, the Prior glanced back at the SUPERGATE as its UNSTABLE VORTEX opened, and destroyed a caught unawares MOFANG VESSEL...  
  
It almost looked like...  
  
[0:35]  
  
On a rather SERPENTINE LIKE BRIDGE, a certain figure draped in ROYAL RED CLOTHES stood center stage, while dozens of GREEN and BLUE SKINNED minions hurried this way and that preparing for the battle just to come.  
  
The one known to very few as CALIBORN, but to many as LORD ENGLISH slammed his cane's end down on the floor and cracked a full grin. The CRIMSON LIGHT of a WORMHOLE glints off of his singular golden tooth as he closes his RAINBOW EYES and says:  
  
[0:46]  
  
 **"IT'S. SHOWTIME."**  
  
The crimson and green vortex suddenly TRANSFORMS into a wall of a water-like substance and KAWOOOSHES OUTWARDS before condensing and releasing the MASSIVE MECHANICAL SNAKE that emerges slowly, but surely, through the NAKED EVENTHORIZON of a wormhole and begins its determined march towards its enemies.  
  
[1:00]  
  
As the green and red vortex disappears like wormholes are known to do, the ORI PRIORS of every ship stare on in horror. A Wormhole THAT BIG without a GATEWAY to frame it?? IMPOSSIBLE.  
  
The MECH SNAKE is primarily a METALLIC GREEN, accented with GOLD along its frame- and is visibly containing within it some kind of PULSING, COURSING, RAINBOW ENERGY flowing from head to tail.   
  
[1:13]  
  
"SOMEBODY FIRE!" A Prior yells, ordering all ships to open fire in a panicked shout.  
  
The Ori Mother-ships all launch massive PLASMA BEAMS which strike the shell of the Snake Mech and... are absorbed into its surface.  
  
Onboard its deck, Caliborn's rainbow eyes open with glee as he watches a POWER LEVEL METER rise steadily.  
  
Every blast striking his GOD SNAKE are absorbed and only ADD TO ITS POWER.  
  
The Ori panic, and a ship goes in to try and fire a burst down its throat- Caliborn snaps his fingers, and the ship's MASSIVE, SERPENTINE JAWS snap shut around the Ori ship.  
  
[1:28]  
  
The explosion is barely visible past the many rows of jagged teeth.  
  
The Mofang and Alternian ships all wisely back away as fast as physically possible, clearing the stage for the LORD OF THE SHOW, the HERO OF THE HOUR, the LORD OF TIME HIMSELF.  
  
Another Ori  ship dares to rush forwards- only to be utterly CRUSHED as the Massive Space Snake impossibly whirls around and slams its TAIL into it.  
  
The explosion is much brighter, and much more evidently absorbed straight into the vessel's tough skin.  
  
[1:39]  
  
The remaining Ori Ships turn tail and begin heading towards the active SUPERGATE, hoping to escape.  
  
For even THEY KNOW the angry wrath of a TRUE GOD, and would rather suffer the wrath of THEIR MERCIFUL GODS rather than die against the scales and teeth of this massive ALTERNIAN SNAKE GOD.  
  
Caliborn laughs, and orders his ship to go after them.  
  
With a roar- the massive SNAKE MECH slithers through space, and then CONSUMES, ship after ship, the ORI VESSELS.  
  
One barely manages to escape doom by slipping through the Eventhorizon, but unfortunately forgot one simple rule...  
  
 **"THE DOORS YOU LEAVE OPEN."** Caliborn chuckles. **"DON'T CLOSE ON THEIR OWN."**  
  
[1:51]  
  
And with that, the massive MECH SNAKE slithers through the Eventhorizon, and travels across GALAXIES through yet another winding, slithering, twisting wormhole.  
  
BLUE LIGHT washes across Caliborn's face and teeth, and he laughs.   
  
**"THE FOOLS. HAVE OPENED THE DOOR. TO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION!"**  
  
[2:00]  
  
Meanwhile, left behind, the SORIAN ARMADA of MOFANG SHIPS open fire on the SUPERGATE- blasting at it and destroying vital chunks- causing a chain reaction which results in the entire thing self-terminating in a MASSIVE EXPLOSION.  
  
The Alternian Vessels, enraged, turn on their former allies, and begin opening fire.  
  
[2:11]  
  
The wormhole FLICKERS around Caliborn's ship, but the ship's POWER CORE picks up the slack and on the other end of the line, the ORI VESSELS guarding the Supergate could only watch in horror as their STANDARD BLUE WALL OF WATER suddenly is overwhelmed by RED AND GREEN light.  
  
[2:16]  
  
And then the SNAKE EMERGES through its wormhole- shutting down the moment the ship is through.  
  
The ORI SHIPS open fire immediately, but unfortunately, they did NOT GET THE MESSAGE the first time.  
  
Their weapons do NOTHING to the Giant Snake.  
  
[2:24]  
  
Smirking as the hail of fire stops, Caliborn takes stock of the FEAR his enemies are giving off. And thus, he orders them all SLAIN, save for the one vessel he'd trailed through the SUPERGATE.  
  
And with but a pause to allow the orders and ships to all be marked properly, the tension builds, and then is released as, like a MIGHTY COBRA, the CHERUBIC VESSEL tears into the ORI FLEET.  
  
[2:37]  
  
Explosion after explosion- bite after bite- ship after ship- their fear SOARS, and then is EXTINGUISHED in a heartbeat.  
  
And surely, Caliborn thinks, if these fools have any GODS that they worship, such acts of violence can not and will not go unpunished.   
  
They will soon come to smite him down, and when they do, oh, will he be ready.  
  
[3:00]  
  
Enjoying the moment for what it is, Caliborn removes a small CONDUCTOR'S BATON from his cane and begins DIRECTING THE MASSACRE with wide sweeping swings and large bursts of laughter.  
  
And thus as it happens, the lone vessel left untouched by all of this happens to be the SKULDAFN, and its Prior stares on as all faith in his ALL POWERFUL ORI is smothered out of existence, SHIP, BY, SHIP.  
  
Oh how he and his crew pray, but it does little good for their companions.  
  
[3:24]  
  
But soon, all but a few ships are gone, and so Caliborn decides to STRIKE OUT.  
  
He broadcasts his voice across the void into their very minds.  
  
 **"YOU FOOLS WHO WORSHIP FALSE AND PUNY GODS. BOW BEFORE THE MIGHT OF YOUR TRUE GOD. THE ONE. THE ONLY. THE ARTISTICALLY INCLINED. LORD. MOTHER FUCKING. ENGLISH!"** He roars. **"SPREAD THE WORD. FAR AND WIDE. TELL ALL WHO WORSHIP IN THIS GALAXY THEY HAVE A NEW. AND MORE POWERFUL. RULER. A BENEVOLENT, BUT KIND, RULER. WHOSE ONLY RULE IS THUS."**  
  
He smirks.   
  
**"FOLLOW ME. AND YOUR SOULS SHALL BE MINE. TO GUARD. DENY ME. AND YOUR SOULS SHALL BE MINE. TO CONSUME."**  
  
Unsure of if they believe him or not, he adds one last punch to the gut:  
  
 **"BASICALLY. _RUN!"_**  
  
[3:50]  
  
And then he flips a switch- and a massive RAINBOW AURA lights up around the exterior of his ship, and PHANTOM WINGS appear running along his ship's spine, one set, two sets, four, eight, sixteen- TWENTY FOUR!!  
  
Many of the surviving ships take the opportunity and FLEE- launching away into hyperspace and vanishing without a trace.  
  
Those that remain are either STRUCK WITH FEAR, or daring to ATTACK HIM.  
  
And those who dare to attack, do so immediately. Their lasers fail to make contact with anything but the RAINBOW AURA- at which point they're utterly REFLECTED and turned back on their attackers which BLOWS THEM THE FUCK UP!!!  
  
 _ **"BEHOLD!!!"**_ Caliborn roars. **"BOW AND KNEEL BEFORE ME!!!"**  
  
At that moment- a few more of the stragglers try kamikazi runs, which, well, goes about as well for them as could be expected.  
  
(They wind up bits of metal stuck between the mech's teeth.)  
  
[4:26]  
  
 _ **"I SAID! MOTHERFUCKING! KNEEL!!!!!"**_  
  
With triumph clear to all who see, the massive flying mech snake rears back and ROARS.  
  
[4:29]  
  
Across the few surviving ships, the people on board do as their lord commands, and they BOW and KNEEL.  
  
Of course, that's when the space above them begins to light up.  
  
Caliborn eyes the somehow miraculously glowing void, and laughs. "SO. YOU COME AT LAST. TO BECOME MY SNACKS."  
  
The glowing begin to solidify, taking form into ethereal, ASCENDED BEINGS- humanoid in shape, and yet SO MUCH GREATER in attempt at appearance.  
  
[5:00]  
  
Then, thus formed, the ascended beings transform into BURNING WRAITHS of ETERNAL CRIMSON FLAMES.  
  
 ** _"WE. ARE. THE ORI."_ ** the Ascended Beings intone. _"YOU WHO DARE CALL YOURSELF A GOD... AND US... FALSE? SHALL. BE. EXTERMINATED."_  
  
 _"HAH!"_ Caliborn laughs. **"I'D LIKE TO MOTHER. FUCKING. SEE. YOU. TRY."**  
  
 _"RENOUNCE YOUR HERETICAL STATEMENTS, AND WE WILL ALLOW YOU THE SMALL MERCY OF A QUICK DEATH."_ The Ori Counter.  
  
 **"FUNNY."** Caliborn smirks. **"I WAS ABOUT TO SAY TO YOU. THE EXACT SAME THING."**  
  
There is silence, and then the ORI decide.  
  
 _"SO BE IT. A PAINFUL, DRAWN OUT DEATH, IT IS."_  
  
 **"LIKE I SAID. I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY."**  
  
And so the Ori TRY.  
  
They gather all their flames and their reality warping powers, and begin condensing them into energy beams and all kinds of SMITING POWERS.  
  
Caliborn smirks, and snaps his fingers.  
  
His VESSEL shifts, and re-configures into an OROBORUS, ring shaped, the mouth clamping down on its tail.  
  
The tension could be cut with a knife as all eyes watch as the Ori prepare to smite the interloper in their galaxy.  
  
[6:08]  
  
Caliborn closes his eyes, a smirk on his face, as he waits for the Ori to finish grandstanding. **"JUST. HIT ME ALREADY. I ALREADY DIE OF BOREDOM."**  
  
This seems to make the ORI MADDER, and so they DOUBLE, AND RE-INTENSIFY their efforts, making their light show just a BIT BRIGHTER before finally unleashing it upon the mech snake.  
  
[6:24]  
  
Of course, the Ori realize their mistake immediately too late as ALL OF THEIR MIGHT is sucked into the center of the Oroborus ring formation, and then is DISPERSED all through out the vessel. But it's too late. They can't STOP THE FLOW OF POWER.  
  
And then it seems there's finally a limit- and there's an EXPLOSION that obscures everything from sight. Finally, the exhausted Ori sit there for a moment, and wait for the SMOKE TO DISPERSE.  
  
And then Caliborn snaps his fingers. _**"CHECKMATE."**_  
  
[6:53]  
  
Then, the smoke DISPERSES as ALL OF THE ORI'S SMITING MIGHT is reflected back upon them- utterly WRECKING THEIR SHIT and causing MANY, MANY, MANY of the Ascended Beings to CEASE EXISTING entirely.  
  
The Ori try to flee- but most can't, they're stuck suddenly being hit back with their own KILLING INTENT a THOUSAND FOLD. Those who do escape do so with the knowledge that they've LOST.  
  
The ORI are FINISHED.  
  
[7:30]  
  
Finally, the Ori lay defeated as nothing but a field of BURNING, WRITHING, DYING ENERGY before Caliborn's ENGLISH MECH SNAKE, now exiting its Oroborus configuration, and opening its mouth and extending its tongue as Caliborn walks out into unprotected space, wreathed in the rainbow aura of LORD ENGLISH.  
Caliborn takes in a deep breath, and opens his mouth WIDE.   
  
[7:42]  
  
And then all of the BURNING ASCENDED ENERGY around him is suddenly drawn in, sucked in through MAGIC, swirling into his very soul and INCREASING HIS OWN RAINBOW AURA so brightly that he might as well become a star in and of himself.  
  
The Ori who survived and the Priors who watch can only stare on in horror as LORD ENGLISH makes good on his PROMISE to CONSUME THE SOULS of those who defy him.  
  


* * *

  
_**END OF ACT 3.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One or two more "Epilogue" chapters for each side, then we move onto ACT 4.


	35. SG1:03x21: Intermission 4A: The 100th Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> O'neill returns to the SGC and finds that he missed a LOT.

_**JULY 27th, 1997.**_  
  
Your name is COLONEL JACK O'NEILL and you're finally back home at STARGATE COMMAND. You're so busy double teaming Carter with Jolinar about the INCREDIBLY STUPID STUNT she just pulled to get the Edora Gate un-burried (Climbing through a sideways gate and then chipping away at the rocks with a limited air supply?) that you almost miss the fact that Skaara is the only member of SG-1 waiting for you on the ramp.  
  
"Welcome back, O'neill," Skaara smiles.  
  
"Good to be back," you say, then, realize, and ask, "Where's Teal'c?"  
  
**"Off world,"** Jolinar is the one who tells you. **"We might not hear back from him for a while."**  
  
"Family stuff, huh?" You guess.  
  
Nobody corrects you.

* * *

 

"Hello, Miss Nurse I don't recognize," you say as a lady you've never seen before enters the Infirmary to give you your examination.  
  
"Hello, Colonel I've only heard rumors about," the lady says. "And it's Miss Doctor, to you." She offers you her hand. "Carolyn Lam, M.D., to be exact. I'm the interim Chief Medical Officer, filling in for Janet Fraiser while she's away."  
  
"Jack O'neill," you shake her hand. "How come Fraiser's not here?"  
  
"I was told personal reasons regarding her Daughter," Dr. Lam says, and begins the usual examination stuff. "I didn't ask beyond that."

"Ah," you nod, understanding. You should drop by and visit Cassie too. That oughta cheer them both up if Cassie's not feeling well.

* * *

 

You go get a snack in the cafeteria after the rather needle intensive exam.  
  
"O'neill!" And then Roxy Egbert is giving you a giant hug in the middle of the lunch line. "You're back! Oh it's good to see you again! We thought you might be dead- well, Carter didn't, and she's been working herself to the bone trying to prove it!"  
  
"You too, Roxy," you say as you return the hug. "And yeah, Carter's clearly missed a few nights of sleep if she's doing the stuff she did."  
  
Hug broken, you look around the Cafeteria for JUDE or any of the kids. You see the four young tykes sitting at a table, watching Roxy eagerly, but no sign of Jude. Hrm, maybe visiting Cassie if she's not feeling well?  
  
"So, what the hell did I miss while I was gone?" You ask. "Cassie caught a cold or something?"  
  
"Oh..." Roxy pauses. "Yeah. That's... um..." She glances away, back at the kids. Jade, Rose, John, Nepeta... No Jude or Davis.  
  
"...I missed something big, didn't I?" you ask.  
  
"That might be the understatement of the year, Colonel," Roxy answers. "Let's go talk it over after we eat, alright?"  
  
"...Fair enough," you say.

* * *

 

It really does turn out to be the understatement of the year.  
  
Kheb found, the Harcesis missing, Thor arriving, and Replicators destroyed... People INTENTIONALLY sent to Alternia as a means of draining a power core to prevent an even BIGGER explosion than what happened?  
  
More than that, YOUR PEOPLE were the ones sent. Teal'c, the Fraisers, Strider, Jude...  
  
Alternia? Where there's no clear-cut idea if they can get BACK?? Yeah. That Alternia.  
  
And the only reason Carter wasn't with them was because she stayed behind to make sure she could get you home safely.  
  
You're not sure how to feel about that. Part of you feels honored and flattered and the other feels like you're just not worth that kind of effort/attention. The only thing that comforts your mind is that THOR is with them, most likely, if Janet found a way to save him. Thor can get them out of this. Almost certainly...  
  
...It's been almost a month already, though.  
  
What the hell happened over there?  
  
You're lost wandering through your thoughts and through the base when you strike upon the QUANTUM MIRROR ROOM- where Mc...Cake? Mckay? Yeah, Mckay is arguing with the ALTERNATE JOEY HARLEY.  
  
"Just tell me where the fuck Jude and Cassie are so I can give them this letter!" Joey says, holding a letter in hand.  
  
"I don't KNOW where they are, I'm not their keeper!" Mckay counters.  
  
"Ughhh! Just-!" She stops upon seeing you standing there. "Jack!" She rushes over and gives you a hug.  
  
"Oh- Colonel," Mckay says, blinking. "When did you get back?"  
  
"While ago," you say. Then you turn to Joey, and say, "What's this about a letter?"  
  
Joey breaks from the hug, and then frowns. "Look, I know it's probably nothing, but my Cassie had a dream about something bad happening and she wrote this letter out for the Her and Jude of this world and told me to give it to them. Could you do it the next time you see them, since Idiot Doctor over here won't tell me where they are?"  
  
You take the letter as she hands it to you. "Sure, I'll make sure this gets to them," you say with a nod.  
  
"Thanks," then, a thought occurs to her. "OH! Wait! Give me a minute! I have another letter my Cassie wrote for you too! You specifically! She wanted to give it to you ages ago but you were off world so she couldn't give it to you."  
  
"Really?" you ask. "Better go get it."  
  
"Right, be right back," and thus, Alternate Joey jumps through the mirror.  
  
"Ugh, kids," Mckay remarks. "I swear I'm never going to have them. Had my fill of kids running around this base as it's been."  
  
You ignore him, and look at the letter addressed "TO JUDE AND CASSIE" on the front. On the back is a scrawled out message reading "OPEN IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT, AND NOT A MOMENT BEFORE."  
  
...You really wonder how the hell you're supposed to get this letter to Alternia without opening it. It's not like you can Back to the Future it and make sure it winds up on Alternia at the exact same moment Jude and the others wind up there.  
  
Joey returns about a minute later, carrying another letter, which she hands to you with a smile, and an apology for the 'weird open criteria.'  
  
You say it's fine, up until you read the text addressed to you, "JACK! DO NOT BREAK GLASS UNLESS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. CONTENTS: ONE BIG RED BUTTON."  
  
...What the hell is that supposed to mean?  
  
Oh well, you pocket both letters and vow to figure them out when you get home.

* * *

"Carter?" You peek into Carter's office, and find her snoozing at her desk.

Yeah, you're not going to bother her. It takes a lot of energy to dig your way out of a cave with a limited oxygen supply.

You'll ask her about the Alternia stuff tomorrow, you guess.

You pause as you go to leave, something nagging at your mind.

But you can't quite place what it is that's bugging you, so you turn and leave Carter to her nap. Whatever it is that's bugging you can wait to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a check in with Alternia, and then we move on to Act 4.


	36. ALT:03x18: Message Recieved.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to return to the present day.

Your name is TYZIAS ENTYKK, and you stop cold in your tracks as you see an OLD AND BATTERED COFFEE MUG sitting outside your room's door. You stare at it, blinking tiredly for a few moments. You've just returned from the PAST and you can't... you aren't sure if you're sleep-walking and dreaming this or if it's really happening.  
  
You slap your face- OW. YES. You're awake. Definitely awake and that Mug is STILL THERE.   
  
Your heart skips a beat. Did it work? Did it really work? Your own MEMORIES haven't updated in any way to imply that things changed, but... Could it really be??  
  
You pick up the mug and look it over. YES. It's definitely the mug you stole from your PROBABLE ANCESTOR in the past- it has your sign on it- and it's definitely got your HAND WRITTEN MESSAGE on it from when you sneaked out during the HEIRESS' ABDICATION MISSION, and burried the damned mug in the floor of a cave that would become the hive of a friend of yours...  
  
"Do Not Go To The Mall," it reads, followed by the date the Mall exploded.  
  
You hold the mug in your hand, and then open the door to your room.  
  
And just like that, you're greeted by your friends- looking battered, confused, and tired, but very much alive.  
  
Charun is out cold, leaning against a wall with their hat drawn over their eyes, but Amisia is sitting there, a smile on her face.  
  
"Tyzias," she says, "what the hell was that coffee mug doing in Charun's floor?" She has that tone of voice you haven't heard in forever. The one that says she knows perfectly well what that coffee mug was doing in the floor of a cave-hive.  
  
"I thought you two were dead," you say, whispering, scarcely believing it.  
  
"We thought it might be a prank at first," Amisia admits. "But then we argued about whether it was or not for long enough of a delay that by the time we did decide to go to the mall, we... we didn't get caught too badly in the explosion." She laughs.   
  
"Why didn't..." you feel your throat clog up. "Why didn't you come find me?"  
  
"...To be honest," Amisia sighs. "We thought you were either caught up in it, or on the run lying low. We went to your hive afterwards and you weren't there. So Charun suggested that maybe we do the same. It was only a little while ago that we realized you were alive, by way of seeing your picture in an old art book I'd borrowed from a library."  
  
"I was in an art book?" you ask, surprised.  
  
"Yup," Amisia holds up a book, titled "The Art of Failed Revolts." She opens it to a page, and... Oh.  
  
OH.  
  
That's you, and Callie and Xefros, in the Garrison Power Room- the artist having rendered you three bursting forth from a wall and attacking the guards. The title of the piece? "The Fall of the Garrison."  
  
"Then it all made sense," Amisia says, closing the book. "You time traveled back and planted the mug and saved us from dying in a horrible fire bomb. So we came to the Rebellion, asked if you were time traveling, and... well... Here we are."    
  
"Here we are," you say, and then you give your friend a hug, and she hugs back. You barely notice out of the corner of your eye that Charun is smiling beneath their hat. Oh, so they think they can get away with pretending to be asleep??  
  
Well, Charun was never really the type for these personal sort of moments anyways. You'll let it slide for now.

* * *

 

Your name is OKURII LEIJON and you can't help but sigh in relief as you recieved JOEY CLAIRE'S IDC, and then she, her team, and the MISSING DAMMEK emerge through the Gate, looking harried and tied. They're a week later than you'd have liked, but they're back, and they're alive, even if Joey looks especially shaken up by the way she's clinging to Xefros and Mierfa.  
  
"Welcome back, Away Team," you greet. "When are you available for debriefing?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Xefros waves. "Talk to Dammek or Callie now if you want to."  
  
"We're gonna be busy for a while," Mierfa adds.  
  
"Okay..." You wave them off as they head away to Joey's room, most likely. Or Xef's. Whichever, you're not going to bother them. "Welcome back, Dammek. We were worried when Tyizas' group came back without you last week," you say as Dammek and Callie join you up on the bridge. "What happened?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Dammek rubs at the back of his head. "I uh, missed the Solar Flare."  
  
"Which was fortunate for us," Callie says, "we wound up on a ship heading to the English Supergate fight trying to rescue him."  
  
You take a stabilizing breath. "So, what did you see?"  
  
"That we'll need something a LOT of a hell bigger than the Megaship's tiny sword if we ever want to stand a chance at cutting the head off that Snake," Dammek says. "And before you ask, yes, I'm already working on the designs. I had a few days to think it over before any of us returned to Haven. I'm thinking... Combiners."  
  
"Dammek's desires for bigger and better aside," you look to Callie. "How accurate is he?"  
  
"That thing took heavy fire from multiple alien space ships, Ma'am," Callie says. "The energy output on those blasters are enough to shred an unshielded ship with one hit. Like Joey's psy-beams, but a bit weaker."  
  
"Shit," You massage at the bridge of your nose. "What happened next?"  
  
"He ate a bunch of the enemy ships, and chased the lone survivor through the Gate," Callie says, then hands you a MEMORY DRIVE. "I recorded it, for review."  
  
"Good," you say, nodding as you look the drive over. It's a bit older than you were expecting, but hey, time travel. "What's up with Joey?"  
  
Dammek and Callie look at each other for a few moments, then Callie begins, "So... Daraya told you about how we blew up the Man on the Green Moon's house, right?"  
  
"It was in the report," you say, frowning. "Why?"  
  
"It turns out he was in the house when we blew it up, and he didn't like it very much," Dammek says. "Like. Understatement of the CENTURY didn't like it very much."  
  
"Okay," you say. "So he came after you, I'm guessing?"  
  
"Joey broke his helmet," Callie says. "Pictures are on the drive too."  
  
You frown. "Do I even WANT to know what kind of eldritch nightmare was lurking underneath?"  
  
"Blue skinned human, basically," Dammek explains.  
  
"Joey seems convinced the man under that helmet looked, as far as facial construction goes, like her father," Callie adds.   
  
"...How the hell does her father become the Scratch Doctor?" You ask.  
  
"Other way around," Dammek says. "We talked it over, and you know how Joey claims her Grandmother is Empress Meenah only temporally exiled?"  
  
"The story and picture you dismissed as 'probably not true'?" You ask.  
  
"Yeah, well..." Dammek hangs his head in shame. "I think she's right. And I think that 'Khepri' persona in Joey's past is really the Empress' future, and she used some kind of cloning technology to base Joey's father off of the Scratch Doctor."  
  
"...So you're saying, and let me get this straight," you say, "that this means that our Joey Claire might be genetically descended from BOTH the current Empress of Alternia AND the Mythological figure of the Scratch Doctor??"  
  
"Give or take some genetic manipulation and drift?" Callie adds a qualifier. "Yes, that's exactly what we're saying."  
  
"...Shit," you swear. "No wonder she's stressed the fuck out."  
  
"Yes, it's-" whatever Callie is going to say next is interrupted as the STARGATE suddenly lights up- seven, no, EIGHT chevrons, does the _WAA WAA KAWOOSSH_ and then shuts down.  
  
"Zebede?" You call out. "Was that what I thought it was?"  
  
"Ummm...!" The gold blood then confirms it. "YES! We just received a data burst transmission from the SAME nine gate glyphs we got from the Haven Tree Stone!"  
  
You grab your radio, "Salazl! Report to bridge. You've got a data file to decrypt."  
  
"Well," Callie remarks, "that was good timing, wasn't it?"  
  
"VERY good timing," Dammek agrees, sounding more than a little bit suspicious.

* * *

 

Your name is JOEY CLAIRE, and according to the oldest DATE CREATED stamp on the files, the current date on Earth is OCTOBER 25TH, 1996.  
  
You click play on the file "ForJoeyFromJude.MP4," and wait for it to boot up.  
  
 _"...Hey, Joey,"_ Jude's face is suddenly smiling at you as he waves at the camera. _"There's a lot we need to talk about, I guess. We're still, ah, decompressing your letter you sent to us. Last thing we read was the report on you getting that Purple Crystal. Yikes! Sounds like a real nightmare to me, y'know?"_   
  
Oh. Wow. They're still so far behind? You guess Salazl went a bit overboard on encrypting and compressing stuff.  
  
Jude looks uncomfortable, as if he's trying to figure out what to say...  
  
 _"Pa's dead, Joey. He- He died. Someone broke into the house and shot him dead so they could steal the Stargate that sent you to Alternia. He-"_ he chokes up a bit. _"He died a little bit before we got your message. He was trying to find a way to get to you, or to bring you home..."_   
  
You stop the video there and process.  
  
PA. Is dead??  
  
YOUR PA? Dead??? Because someone wanted that fucking Stargate and-- And-- He only JUST died before they got your message.  
  
BEFORE THEY GOT YOUR MESSAGE.  
  
You.  
  
You--  
  
You press play and let Jude resume talking.  
  
 _"I guess, ironically, we've kind of got the power to get to you mostly dropped into our laps just like you got your way to contact us. Captain Carter says she's including that formula stuff in our return transmission too."_ He pauses, then continues "Roxy and Alec got married. They've got two kids now! Rose and John. We're an Aunt and Uncle! I guess? Of a sort?"   
  
You pause the video.  
  
Roxy??? And ALEC???  
  
You resume, as Jude adds, _"I'm also basically a Big Bro now, too. We... Pa took in this girl. Jade. She's... She'll be one this December. We've got some pictures and video we're sending your way too. You'd like her."_  
  
You pause again, and quickly search up the PICTURE FILES.  
  
Jade, Jade, Jade, Jade...  
  
THERE.  
  
...She's... she's so adorable.  
  
Your Niece? Sister?  
  
She... you...  
  
You go back to the video and let it play.  
  
 _"I'm not really sure what else I'm supposed to say here, Joey."_ Jude says, _"I miss you, alot. There's so much I want to say and tell you but I'm not sure what I can actually say here without-"_ he forces back a sob and the tears. _"Without... yknow. Crying. We Harley men aren't supposed to cry easily!!"_ He tries to puff out his chest in a mimic of PA, but... it falls flat. You're feeling the TEARS IN YOUR EYES just like the ones he's no doubt trying to ignore as he records this. _"I... I'm trying to be strong here, Joey. For Jade. For Roxy and Alec, and even Aunt Jane. It's- It's been tough. Sometimes I-"_ He sniffs. You sniff back the tears too. _"I feel like I'm not doing everything I could be or should be and I just... I want to stop what I'm doing and go hide in a corner but..."_   
  
There's a moment of pause. C'mon, Jude, what are you going to say here...?  
  
 _"But for cryin' out loud, Joey! I helped Davis throw a BOMB at a Stargate connected to a BLACK HOLE and saved the EARTH! Even if-"_ You pause the video as Jude hesitates so you process that statement.   
  
...What.  
  
Jude.  
  
You. WHAT???  
  
A black hole!? With a Stargate???   
  
Is there more to that?? You resume playing.  
  
 _"Even if I'm scared that neither of us are ever going to see eachother in person again, I- I'm helping! You're helping! We're both doing something amazing and I JUST--"_ he sobs and you feel like you want to cry too. _"I WISH PA COULD STILL BE HERE TO SEE WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING!"_ You fight back the tears, just like Jude is, and wait for him to talk more.  _"I MISS YOU, JOEY! COME BACK HOME SOON, OKAY!?"_  
  
And that's the end of it. Thank god, because you REALLY WANT TO CRY right about now.  
  
So you do. And boy do you cry, and cry, and cry. Xefros comes in at one point and gives you a comforting hug and a back rub. You think you'd get more out of it if you were a full blooded troll but you're not going to bother shape shifting for that.  
  
You just keep crying until you can't cry no more.  
  
By the time you've finished your cry, you think you're ready to record a reply. Xefros moves to leave to give you privacy, but you ask him to handle the camera instead.  
  
He nods, accepting of that request.  
  
So you sit down across from him, and look into the camera as Xefros activates it.  
  
"Hey, everyone!" You give a smile- although it's tempered by all the emotions you've just vented. "Well... I guess not everyone. I still can't believe Pa..." you quickly wipes at your eyes and sniff back the tears before they come out again. "Anyways! Hah. Yeah. First message we're recording after receiving your reply. There's... a few older videos you should probably watch next, but... yeah. First video. Yay."  
  
Xefros winces, and yeah, you agree, that probably didn't sound all that happy.  
  
"So, yeah. We just got back from a huge mission- report's in here somewhere- Roxy's probably going to love it. Lots of Time Travel. Lots of... Spacey things. Heh." You shake your head again, and then take a deep breath to steel yourself. "I don't know when you're going to see this video- how long it'll be or- Well. There's probably going to be more urgent stuff you guys need to look at from later on- we should probably mark that, I guess."  
  
Xefros nods, and gives an encouraging smile.  
  
"Um. Right. So... I guess I should say thanks for the instructions for the miniature power generator thing?" you smiles. Oh, yeah, right, you should probably mention how giddy Salazl was when he handed you a tablet with the videos and pictures on them. "Salazl was drooling just looking at the designs. Where did you get them, anyways? I'll bet we probably have our own version running by the time we send this message forwards... whenever that will be. Salazl's still working on the stabilizers to make sure the Gate won't shake everything apart next time we dial out."  
  
You hope he fixes that soon.  
  
"Anyways, yeah." You laugh- but it's such a hollow laugh you can use it to echo locate all the different parts of your empty breath as it leaves your mouth. "Direct replies? Short ones for the moment, bigger ones later once I process this." You pause, okay. ROXY FIRST. "Hey, Roxy! You got Married!? To my COUSIN!?" You stare at the Camera and also at Xefros, who seems just as confused as you are. "What the hell! Now I have to call you... what? My Cousin-in-law?? What even is the right term for this?? Also, I'm an Aunt now too?" You actually laugh at the absurdity of it. "I just... wow. Talk about a surprise. I wish I could meet them in person. Maybe someday soon, yeah?"  
  
Who next? Jude? Jude.  
  
"Jude!" you glare at the camera, and then yell, " _ **JUDE HARLEY.**_ DID YOU SERIOUSLY. _***SERIOUSLY.***_ HELP THROW A BOMB AT A FUCKING BLACK HOLE!?"  
  
You pause, hoping to let that sink in, also to send an apologizing look to Xef because he wasn't expecting you to yell.  
  
"YOU'D BETTER NOT PULL ANY MORE STUNTS LIKE THAT, OKAY!?" you continue to yell. "YOU GOTTA BE THERE FOR THAT LITTLE GIRL YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF! YOU GOTTA BE THERE TO RAISE HER! BECAUSE OUR LITTLE SISTER IS SUPER ADORABLE AND CLEARLY NEEDS TO BE LOVED AND WRAPPED UP IN BLANKETS AND KEPT SAFE FROM EVERYTHING WRONG IN THE UNIVERSE! DO! YOU! HEAR! ME!?"  
  
You pause, waiting for Jude to give something like a "Yes Ma'am! I will totally take care of myself and her and not do anything rash and/or dangerous!"  
  
Then, you resume speaking with a smile, "Good. And if any of the biological family members of this adorable little girl happen to be listening in at any point in time?" You return to the firm glance. "You'd best have some damn good reasons for not wanting to raise her otherwise I'm gonna..." You raise up your Bracelet and let it glow menacingly. **_"GIVE YOU HAIR THAT CHANGES COLOR ALL ON ITS OWN!!!"_**  
  
For a second, you realize what you just said, and then you break down into laughter at the sheer chaos such a statement might cause. And also, because Xefros is staring at you with a look that's half restraining laughter and half terrified that he's the recipient of that threat.  
  
It takes a bit to calm down, and once you do, you resume talking. "Oh. Wow. Did I really just go full Alternian Heiress there for a moment? Hah. I think I did. Ree's rubbing off on me, I guess." You take a few stabilizing breaths to make sure you're not going any further off the rails. "So, yeah. Jude, I really miss you too. I hope I can come through with this next message but we might not have the time to do it. Things are... things are complicated right now. Mofangplicators everywhere, giant Supergates being built, and let's not forget one incredibly stupid moron pretending to be a giant snake god possibly returning from an intergalactic exile."  
  
You'd actually rather forget about the GIANT SNAKE GOD.  
  
"So. Yeah. When we get the chance to send this message out, we might be pretty much neck deep fighting somebody, and I can't excuse leaving in the middle of that." You feel the sadness creeping back into your voice. No matter what you do, you're going to be stuck, aren't you? Stuck here, never to return. "I'd love to come home, but... we'll see what happens, yeah? And hey, maybe the next time you guys send a message back to us, it'll be in person? Yeah? Maybe." You smile.  "I sure hope so, at any rate. I-"   
  
"TIME TEAM A, AND TIME TEAM B TO THE BRIDGE, IF YOU'D PLEASE!" Zebede's voice suddenly interjects.  
  
You sigh. "Well, I gotta go. So... yeah. Okay. Talk to you guys later! Bye!!"  
  
And with that, you reach over to the camera and shut it off.  
  
"What do you think this is about?" Xefros asks as he puts the camera up on a shelf.  
  
"No idea," you shake your head. "Let's go find out."  
  
And so you head to the bridge.

* * *

 

"We have a few problems," your name is Callie Ohphee, and you wait for Joey and Xefros to join you and the rest of the time traveling team on the bridge. "Most aren't big ones, or even really Problems for that matter, but they're all important and we need to discuss them now."  
  
"What's the smallest one?" Joey asks, putting a determined look on her face.  
  
"The Stargate Address for Earth," you say. "We got confirmation from Earth Dialing in just earlier today that the one we used is RIGHT, but... the only way we COULD have gotten it is by receiving THEIR reply message to us. It's a paradox, and one that's making me uncomfortable about where the information actually comes from to begin with."  
  
"It's not in the Ancient Database we stole?" Joey asks.  
  
"There IS an address for Earth- in fact it's the only nine symbol address in the Database," you say, "however it's a DIFFERENT set of nine symbols. Now, at first I thought it could just be stellar drift, but that's when I realized something. The nine symbol addresses are actually, most probably, for a SPECIFIC Stargate, not a specific location in space."  
  
"Okay, so we got a Gate address for a different Gate on Earth," Joey nods. "Cool. That's... that works. I can live with that along with everything else."  
  
"What's the next biggest problem?" Okurii asks.  
  
"Speaking OF the Ancient Alien Database and Earth's unique presence as the only nine symbol address on board," you say. "We found some data records indicating that the 'Destiny' and the Gate Seedship that came to our Galaxy originally were launched FROM Earth."  
  
"...Huh," Okurii muses. "That's... interesting."  
  
"And it says something about all the paradoxical ties between our two planets," you continue, "it's concerning, but not as much as what else I found in the Database."  
  
"Which is...?" Xefros asks.  
  
"The seed ships leave Stargates in a line out from Milky Way," you say, "then Destiny would follow that trail of Stargates. However there was a CURIOUS change of course that lead to them coming to our Galaxy to begin with." You bring up a map, and show that there were a STRAIGHT LINE of Stargate filled Galaxies up until one curious galaxy, at which point the ships all suddenly changed course and veered to the next galaxy to the IMMEDIATE LEFT.   
  
Interestingly, the next galaxy in the line on the map shows that it was BLOTTED OUT RED at the Destiny's original launch day.  
  
"Why go around a Galaxy?" Okurii asks.  
  
"I think they were avoiding the Galaxy that the Aliens who built the Supergate were coming from," you say, pointing along the line of galaxies that the Destiny DID visit until it hit Alternia's Galaxy and suddenly stopped- when the Empress took the ship over and began modifying it for her own needs. "See how close we are in the line from that divergence point?"  
  
"So basically..." Joey begins, "the people who made the Stargates and this Destiny ship, on Earth, millions upon billions of years ago... sent Destiny to the Left, which wound up with them reaching here. And Alternia. When if they chose to go to the RIGHT instead...?"  
  
"Basically, we'd never be in this situation if they'd had Destiny go right," you say.  
  
"...And you're afraid it's another stable time loop?" Okurii asks.  
  
"Pretty much, yes," you nod.  
  
"So... that brings us to our next concern," Dammek says, pointing at the redded out galaxy. "Lord English is probably still in that Galaxy with his giant fucking snake mech. He probably doesn't know how close they are, relatively, to Alternia, so he's stayed there."  
  
"This is our second biggest problem," you say. "We sent the Megaship to check the site of the original Supergate and just heard back that they didn't find any signs of construction, recent or ancient. If the Replicators are building a new Supergate to return Lord English to our galaxy, it's not there, and we have no idea where they're building it."  
  
"So basically we need to start hunting for Black Holes and see if a Supergate is being built," Tyzias says, speaking up for the first time this meeting. "Easy, right?"  
  
"Not so easy, if the Mofangplicators can make their own black hole," Daraya says. "We're sitting ducks if they've hidden it away somewhere we don't know."  
  
"So," Tyzias corrects herself, "basically we need to search the entire fucking galaxy for a Supergate. Lovely."  
  
"In the mean time," Mallek chimes in, "I'll see about getting that A.I. to work on doing some heavy math lifting. Maybe we can predict where the bugs are building the gate."  
  
"Alright," Okurii nods. "Let's brainstorm other solutions."  
  
While the meeting progresses on, you can't help but feel worried...  
  
WHAT IF YOU DON'T FIND IT ON TIME?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring today's Troll Call Trolls in brief! 
> 
> Act 4 goes up soon after this.


End file.
